Cold Heart
by Lady GreyWolf
Summary: THE SEQUEL TO "AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY"! The Children of Magic regain their memories of their adventures in the Enchanted Forest and Storybrooke when some of their old friends send out a cry for help. Winter is coming to Storybrooke and it's believed that whoever is the cause of it won't be satisfied with just this town covered in snow and ice...
1. Prologue

_**MY GOD, IT'S TIME ALREADY!**_

**First, some notes also mentioned in the intro-thingy (which is still up because if I just replaced it with this people wouldn't get notified about it, but it will be removed eventually).**

**1, This story won't follow the storyline of the show like **_**An Unexpected Journey**_** did but I will include things that I find interesting and that I can spin on.**

**2, I might change the rating of this story as we go along because the drafts that I've written so far are sometimes more M-rated than T-rated.**

**3, There will be a lot of new characters featured in this story, so I'd suggest that if you feel like you can't tell one from the other, use the Wiki! Link on my profile and**** I'll try to update it as we go**

_(and an added note)_** 4, No flashbacks from the Enchanted Forest _but_ there will be flashbacks to things happening in Storybrooke while the new characters aren't there and this prologue happens to be one of those.**

**Second, remember to read through all of AUJ before actually starting this or you'll be causing yourself some major spoilers (a friend of mine is currently catching up on it and has managed to read almost 70 chapters in 2 days, without spending 24 hours a day doing it, so it's highly possible to do quite fast, apparently).**

**Third, I cannot believe how many followers this got the moment I posted the notif about the story-link being up. Really, you guys are incredible and, like I said at the end of AUJ, I really don't care about the reviews but the fact that people are actually following and favoriting this thing that I initially wasn't going to post and was sort of a side-project - THANK YOU!**

**Alright, I think that's everything. On to the story!**

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><p><em>Storybrooke, Maine<em>

_Early April, 2014_

She had run from the barn, through the forest and down the road to the town. Thus, when she entered _Granny's Diner_, her lungs were close to exploding.

She did not care.

She was home.

It still felt a bit odd to say it, but also so right; Storybrooke was her home.

She opened the door to the diner, the bell chiming above her head, and looked around for the people she wanted to see the most. She soon spotted them at the back of the room, smiling adoringly down at their baby boy. Her brother.

She did not speak as she walked up to them with long strides, but they still heard her coming by the sound of her boots hitting the floor. The woman with black hair turned, the recognition in her eyes almost making the woman approaching weep.

"Emma", the dark-haired woman said, just before the approaching woman wrapped her arms around both her and her husband.

"You weren't answering your cell", the man said as she pulled back. "We were starting to get worried."

"I'm fine", Emma replied and smiled. "I'm home."

The couple in front of her looked from her to one another and then back again.

"Do you mean", the dark-haired woman said, "that you're not... leaving?"

"I'm not going anywhere", Emma answered, feeling her smile widen. A teenage boy sitting at a booth close by rose and smiled widely.

"We're staying in Storybrooke?" he asked, sounding excited. Emma nodded and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, kid", she said. "This is where we belong. This is where our family is."

Smiles spread over the faces of the couple in front of her and she felt like crying again.

"Mum", she said, "dad, I missed you."

She then wrapped her arms around them again and allowed herself to cry in relief.

When they eventually parted and sat down in the booth nearby, Emma's father, David Nolan, pulled up his phone and frowned at the screen.

"What?" Emma asked.

"He's been trying to get in touch with Rachel", her mother, Mary Margaret, replied. "No answer. Was she with you?"

"Kind of", Emma replied and launched into the story of what had happened when she and Captain Hook had been transported into the past. To prove her tale she pulled out the old, worn storybook and flipped the pages until it showed a dancing couple at King Midas' ball.

"Wait", Mary Margaret said when she had finished, "you're Princess Leia?"

Emma smiled sheepishly.

"Nice alias", her son, Henry, said to her right.

"And Rachel was Princess Weronika, the one I danced with?" David asked with a frown.

"Yes", Emma said. "They were all there, disguised and using aliases."

"Seems like you all really became one of us", Mary Margaret said with a smile. "Fairytale princes and princesses at last."

"Yeah", Emma said, "but I don't know where they went later. I didn't see any of them after... I don't even know if..."

She thought back at the fireball the Evil Queen had thrown at Clarissa and shuddered.

"They're fine; they're probably on their way here now", Mary Margaret assured her. "The reason David can't get to them is probably because of that they forgot to pick up their phones when they got back here."

Emma nodded slowly and crossed her fingers beneath the table.

"Well", she then said, "now that I am a fairytale princess, I have a princess-y request. I would like to know the name of my baby brother."


	2. 1: Harsh Reality

**Here we go, first chapter :) I'm currently working on chapter 4 and my BETA-people are currently reading chapter 2, but I've got quite a lot to do at the moment (I have one assignment deadline on Friday and one next Friday) so don't know when I'll get up to speed on the writing. Possibly around Christmas X) But I'll try to post chapters as often as possible, though most likely not multiple chapters at a time like I did with AUJ.**

**Anyway; enjoy the ride!**

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><p><em>Orlando, Florida<em>

_September, 2017_

"Rachel?" Ella called through the door of the bathroom. Everyone was awake by now and were standing there as a group of fourteen, worriedly waiting for their fifteenth member to come back out.

"I'll be right out", Rachel responded. "I'm fine."

"She doesn't sound fine", Filipi whispered.

"What the hell was she screaming about?" Wolfgang asked. "She might have woken the whole place with that scream."

"We'll find out soon enough", Toby said. The door to the bathroom slowly opened and Rachel stepped out. She was pale and the look of shock was still clearly visible on her face, but there was something else as well. In her hands she was carrying a basket filled with small, blue bottles that none of them remembered seeing before.

"What's that?" Clarissa asked.

"Something that we need to do", Rachel said.

"Rachel, what's going on?" Chris asked.

"You were the one that pointed it out, Chris", Rachel replied. "That this... it feels like it's happened before. Like that story I wrote isn't just a story."

"And what has that got to do with some strange bottles that you found in the bathroom?" Miranda asked.

"They can help explaining things", Rachel said, before she turned around and pulled down her pyjama shirt so that it exposed her shoulder. There was a collective sharp intake of breath as everyone saw the scar that ran diagonally from her shoulder and disappeared beneath the shirt.

"I didn't have that yesterday", Rachel said as she turned back to face them. "I didn't even have that last night when I went to bed."

"That's the same scar that your character in the story got", Jade said, sounding amazed.

"I think it isn't just a story", Rachel said. "I think it's the truth."

She turned towards Indira and handed her the basket of bottles.

"Look at the note", she said. The Indian girl frowned slightly, before she pulled out a small card.

"Drink up, dearie", she read, her frown deepening. "That's familiar."

"Wait, who does that remind me of?" Catriona asked. "I've heard someone use that word before, constantly. Dearie."

"Rumplestiltskin", Indira suddenly said, her eyes widening in surprise. "Rumplestiltskin used to... wait, how do I know that?"

"Subconscious memories trying to break through", Rachel replied, then pulled out one of the bottles. "I think these are memory potions, to help us remember what has happened to us."

Glances were exchanged among the members of the group, asking silent questions.

"Either we all drink them or no one does", Toby eventually said. "Everyone alright with that?"

The rest of the group nodded.

"Who does not want us to drink these?" Toby asked. No one raised their hands or made any other kind of motion to cast their vote on the stated option.

"Who wants us to drink?" Toby then asked. Fifteen hands were raised towards the ceiling.

"Alright", Rowan said, "let's do this."

The basket was passed around the group and everyone pulled out a bottle. The liquid inside looked dark, but it might be a trick of the bottles' blue glass.

"Everyone ready?" Wolfgang asked when he had taken the last bottle. There were nods throughout the group and, as one, they uncorked their bottles.

"This is crazy", Tessa remarked.

"Insane", Catriona agreed. Then they all downed their drinks.

Images flashed in front of everyone's closed eyes; the Enchanted Forest, Storybrooke, friends, family, the Wicked Witch and time travel.

"Bloody hell!" Wolfgang exclaimed when the flood of memories finally ceased. He braced himself against the bed that he stood next to.

"Oh my God", Arianne whispered. They all looked around at one another and saw that they were, once again, looking a year older than they had been when they arrived in Orlando. The illusion of them never leaving was gone.

"Why were those bottles here?" Ella eventually asked. "How could Rumplestiltskin have known where to send them? No one knew that we were taken back here after our little time travel adventure."

"Why did he even send them?" Toby asked and picked up the now empty box. "Our task was done; we weren't needed anymore. Why make us remember all of that? It's put us in a really tricky situation."

"Easy question", Rachel said and sat down on her bed. "They need our help again."

"But when?" Jade asked. "Back in 2014? Then they're pretty much screwed."

"Guys."

It was Maryse. She had walked back to the bed she had slept on and picked up the box containing her newly purchased wand. The long, wooden object she now held in her hand was emitting sparkles.

"We've got our magic back", the strawberry-blonde woman said with a smile.

"Do you think we can recreate Zelena's time travel spell and go back to Storybrooke?" Tessa asked.

"Where should we get hold of a heart, a symbol of courage, a brain and a newborn baby?" Clarissa asked.

"A hospital might help", Jade remarked.

"No, that's not it", Toby said and shook his head. "We don't need to recreate the spell; we just need to find the man that was able to harvest some of that power; Ollivander."

"Do you think he's still here?" Miranda asked. "In Orlando, I mean."

"I don't know", Toby replied, "but it's worth looking into."

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><p>Using their magic it was an easy task to keep the guards of the park from noticing them as they went inside. They stuck to the sides of the building and used spells to detect surveillance cameras that needed to be avoided. Despite this, the route to Ollivander's in Diagon Alley took them no longer than it had done when they had walked there the first time around.<p>

"_Alohomora_", Maryse whispered and pointed her wand at the lock of the closed building. It clicked and silently swung open.

The shop was dark, just like it had been when they had visited it before, and there was no trace of the vortex that had pulled them away back then and, at the same time, destroyed the floor.

"Maybe this was a bad idea", Miranda whispered.

"We just have to look around for clues", Filipi whispered back. "Stuff that could tell us where Ollivander is."

"Who's there?"

The voice made them all spin around and raise their wands. In return they received a startled yelp from a man with bushy, white hair and large pale, silvery eyes. He held an old-fashioned lantern in his right hand, which illuminated his shocked face.

"Merlin's beard", he muttered, "what are you kids doing here?"

"We remember", Ella replied. The man studied them with a frown.

"Remember what?"

"Drop the act, Ollivander", Wolfgang ordered. "Rumplestiltskin provided us with memory potions."

The old man blinked in surprised, before cursing out loud.

"That damned fool", he growled. "I don't have enough magic in me to conceal what happened to you as it is."

"So you didn't know this was going to happen?" Catriona asked.

"Of course I didn't know", Ollivander replied and set his lantern down on the shop's counter. "I used all of my magic to help you while you were in the past and then bring us all here. I planned to live out the rest of my life here, in peace."

"Wait, you no longer have any magic?" Clarissa asked.

"None whatsoever", Ollivander replied.

"Not even some conserved part of Zelena's time travel magic?" Rachel asked. Ollivander's eyes shot towards her and studied her in silence.

"You do have that, don't you?" Rowan asked.

"It's too dangerous to wield", Ollivander replied, "and it's only enough for one trip. No return."

"Well, since Rumplestiltskin managed to send memory potions through time, maybe he's able to send us back as well", Toby pointed out.

"Would you really take that risk?" Ollivander questioned.

"Look, something must have happened in Storybrooke", Chris said. "Why else would they go through the trouble of sending these potions, not to mention tracking us down?"

Ollivander pondered it for a while before he sighed.

"Come with me", he said and picked up his lantern, walking further back into the shop.

At the back of the long shelves containing wands for sale to the public was a wall, most likely the outer wall of the house. However, when Ollivander placed his hand against it, it melted away, revealing a large room containing several worn couches, a bookcase crammed with books, a desk with ink and quills and a small kitchenette. Stairs lead up to a second floor, most likely hosting a bedroom.

"A Fidelius charm", Ollivander said as he lit several wax candles around the room. "Very handy when it comes to hiding yourself."

"Yes, we know of it", Indira said. "Sirius Black's home was hidden by such a charm."

"Serious who?" Ollivander asked with a frown.

"Never mind", Wolfgang said. "How do we get back to Storybrooke?"

"Well, if they do need your help, I suppose they might have sent a message with those potions as well", Ollivander said and nodded at the basket that Arianne carried. She shook her head.

"It's empty."

"Let me see", the old man said and held out his hands. Arianne handed the object to him and he studied the inside of the object intently.

"Aha!" he eventually said. "I don't suppose anyone of you have thought to use a revealing charm on this?"

"I thought of it", Toby admitted.

"Well then, my boy; go ahead and do it!"

The old wandmaker placed the basket down and Toby pointed his wand at it.

"_Aparecium_", he said. The basket shook slightly as the spell hit it, but otherwise it seemed unchanged.

"Nothing happened", Jade remarked.

"Oh, something did, something did", Ollivander said, sounding pleased. "Toby, would you please turn the basket up-side-down?"

The group exchanged frowns as Toby did exactly this, but the bottom of the basket looked just as unchanged as the rest of it. Ollivander, however, seemed unfazed by this and was walking around the room, blowing out all of the candles that he had previously lit.

"Dark magic", he said, "must always be read in the dark."

He extinguished the candle in his old lantern and the room was submerged in darkness. Then words written in glowing green ink appeared on the bottom of the basket, as if an invisible hand was writing them there and then.

_This winter won't stay in Storybrooke_

_89 Wooster Street, New York_

"Wow, they're involving _Game of Thrones_ now as well?" Wolfgang asked. Some members of the group chuckled at the comment but Ollivander, who was now walking around the room lighting the candles again, looked troubled.

"Do you know what this might mean?" Tessa asked him. Ollivander sank down in a large chair with a sigh.

"Yes", he admitted, "and if this winter that Rumplestiltskin is speaking of is caused by the one I'm thinking of, they really are in trouble."

"So we need to get back and help them, then", Rachel said.

"No."

The members of the group frowned at the old man.

"No", he clarified, "you cannot go back there alone."

"You mean you're coming with us?" Filipi asked.

"Only to that address", Ollivander replied and pointed at the basket. The text that had been clearly visible in the dark was now invisible again.

"I have no magic", he continued, "but I have something else; knowledge of the various types of magic that you can wield. And I know where there are more people like you."

"You mean more people that you sent away from the Enchanted Forest?" Miranda asked.

"Yes", Ollivander said and rose, walking over to the bookcase. From one of the top shelves he pulled out a small, leather-bound notebook, which he brought over to the coffee table. The others gathered around to watch as he opened it up, confirming their suspicions; this was the notebook they had found in the Dark Palace back in the Enchanted Forest, the one where Ollivander had written down all of the Children of Magic that he had sent away from there.

"I think it's time", he said, "for you to take on apprentices."


	3. 2: Get Warm

**Sorry that it took so long, been busy with an exam and some Christmas preparations. I have a new Uni-course starting tomorrow but won't be attending that first lecture because I'm a bit sick atm (cold w. fever, nothing else), so instead I'm going to try to write some stuff.**

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><p>"There are fifteen types of magic", Ollivander said while clearing the desk of unimportant notes.<p>

"How convenient", Toby remarked.

"Of course it is", Ollivander huffed. "Magic is always convenient when it comes to things like this."

He unrolled a large empty parchment next to the old leather-bound book and started writing down words on it.

"Every one of you can learn to wield all fifteen types of magic", he said as he kept writing, "and I wouldn't be surprised if you all did exactly that, but you all also have a certain type of magic that you are most suited to wield."

He dipped the quill in the inkhorn before he kept writing.

"Magic is divided into three groups. There are the Essentials, the ones that every witch or wizard should study. Then there are the Naturals, the ones connected with nature itself, and the Instinctive, those that require an ability to think and act quickly."

"So are we just going to tell you which of these groups we should be in or..." Clarissa begun, but Ollivander cut her off by vigorously shaking his head.

"No, no, absolutely not", he said. "Like I said; I can tell which type of magic you are most suitable for."

He spun the parchment around so that they could all see what he had been writing. There were three groups of five written in a column on the left side of the paper. The first group, the Essentials, contained the types Apparition, Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Potions and Transfiguration.

"You call it Apparition?" Filipi asked.

"Yes", Ollivander said. "Teleportation sounds so old and boring. Apparition is a much better word. Now..."

He turned the paper again and drew up another column, dividing the paper into three sections. In the middle column, next to the group of Essentials, he wrote five names.

"Wait", Rachel said, interrupting him, "what exactly is it that we should do? You mentioned something about apprentices and then you started writing this and..."

"Every sorcerer needs an apprentice", Ollivander said, "and I did invite you to teach at Hog's Castle when all of this was over. Now we cannot go back there anymore, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't teach your art to others."

"But we're not teachers", Jade protested. "I mean, Rachel is, and Miranda, and Tessa a little bit, and..."

"Your old professions do not mean anything", Ollivander said. "Teaching magic is not like teaching what you do in your schools here. It requires a certain bond between the master and the apprentice, a passion for the same subject. And that is what we'll be looking for when finding your apprentices."

"So you'll choose them for us?" Maryse asked.

"I'm the one who knows which subject they should be studying, am I not?"  
>"Perhaps", Wolfgang said, "but if we're doing this we need to have a say in things. We need something like an actual organization."<p>

"I'm with Wolf on that", Rowan agreed, "and I vote Toby for headmaster."

"What?" Toby exclaimed.

"That's brilliant!" Tessa said. "Toby's our own personal Dumbledore!"

"Dumble-what?" Ollivander asked.

"Toby, you're the Leader", Catriona agreed. "Of course you're meant to be the Headmaster of this thing."

"What?" Toby said, looking from one to the other. "What?"

"We also need a Deputy", Chris said. "I vote Rachel for that."

"I'm sorry, what?" the woman in question said with a raised eyebrow.

"You've got teaching experience", Ella pointed out, "and you know how to organize things."

"Have you seen my desk?" Rachel questioned. "Organizing is not my biggest strength."

"Alright, so we have a Headmaster and a Deputy Headmistress", Indira said with a grin. "What else do we need?"

"Oh, oh!" Clarissa said, jumping up and down and waving her right hand in the air. "We need House Heads!"

"Do we?" Arianne asked. "Why?"

"How can we be appointing roles before we even know what we're going to do?" Toby asked. A chuckle from Ollivander caused them all to turn around.

"You know", the old man said, "this is exactly how I imagined you would run the school."

He pulled out another empty parchment and handed it, a quill and an inkhorn to Toby.

"Start with the name for your school", he said. "What do you wish to call it?"

"What had you intended to call yours?" Toby asked.

"Hog's Castle's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry", Ollivander replied, "but you do not have to use that."

Toby hesitated and looked up at the others, who nodded.

"Well", he then said, "that it's a school for witchcraft and wizardry should definitely be included in the name, but I'd like to name it something else other than Hog's Castle. How about Hogwarts?"

Ollivander raised a white bushy eyebrow in surprise.

"Hogwarts?" he asked. "Huh. An odd name, but a good one."

Toby wasted no time in writing the name down at the top of the parchment. _Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_.

"The school is run by the Headmaster", he then continued as he wrote, "along with fourteen masters of magic. All of them will teach... how many apprentices?"

"A master should never have more than two apprentices", Ollivander replied. "Preferably only one."

"Is it possible for them to study more than one subject?" Catriona asked.

"Well, I suppose", Ollivander replied, "but then they still have to focus mainly on their most suitable subject."

"How about this?" Toby said as he finished the sentence he had been writing. "_All of them will teach their subjects to a group of fifteen to thirty apprentices over a period of_... how long does it take to teach one apprentice?"

"It depends on both the master and the apprentice", Ollivander replied.

"Alright, scratch the time-thing", Filipi said. "Now what?"

"How many subjects can each apprentice study?" Maryse asked.

"They need to focus on their most suitable subject, so I say... not more than three others?" Arianne suggested. "That gives them a total of four subjects to study."

"Sounds good", Wolfgang agreed, while Toby wrote it all down on the parchment.

"Let's leave the houses for now", he then said, knowing that the others were eager to get to that point. "We don't need that."

"He's right", Miranda agreed, interrupting a series of protests from some of the others. "What we need to know is who teaches what?"

"Ah, I guess this is where I come in again", Ollivander said with a smile. He turned his parchment around again and they could see that he had now written out exactly who should teach which subject.

"I got Fairy Magic!" Tessa exclaimed. "I got Fairy Magic! Holy..."

"How am I supposed to teach Divination?" Clarissa asked with a frown. "I've never done anything like that."

"I forgot a basic healing spell last year and you want me to teach Healing?" Miranda asked.

"I know some of these might make you confused", Ollivander said, interrupting them all, "but these are the subjects you are most suited to work with."

"Alright", Jade said, "I guess we'll just have to make it work. Now how do we find our apprentices? Do we just walk up to some random people on the street and ask them if their interested in it?"

"No, no", Ollivander chuckled and patted the old worn book, "we'll find them through this..."

He rose and walked over to a corner of the room, in which an old globe was placed. He picked it up and carried it over to the table.

"And this", he finished and sat down again. "Now, let me see..."

He spun the globe around until he had the American continent in front of his eyes. Then he raised the old book and blew on the pages, sending dust from it floating down onto the globe. The globe immediately started to glow.

"Wow", Chris said, "that was seriously cool."

"Now we can see exactly where everyone is at", Ollivander said as little red dots started to appear all over the globe. "All of the Children of Magic that I sent away."

"This is where they are right now?" Catriona asked. Ollivander nodded.

"There are so many of them", Tessa commented.

"I sent more away", Ollivander sadly remarked, "but not everyone is still alive."

"But we need to travel back in time", Ella said. "Wouldn't it be better to check where we might find people back in 2014, where we need to go?"

"Better yet; check when a lot of them are present in New York", Toby suggested. "That's where we'll need to go anyway, because of Rumplestiltskin's cryptic message."

Ollivander nodded thoughtfully.

"You're right. Let us see what we can find."

He placed his hand on the metal holder of the globe and closed his eyes, concentrating. The next moment the globe started spinning counter-clockwise, faster and faster until it was a blur in front of their eyes. Then, suddenly, it pulled to an abrupt halt, once again with the American continent facing Ollivander. The old man exhaled and leaned back in his chair.

"Oh, I'm too old for this", he sighed.

"You should have asked one of us to do that", Arianne said. "We could have..."

"No, no, I'll be fine", Ollivander replied and waved his hand at her. "I just need to rest for a few moments."

"When is this?" Chris asked, looking at the globe and the dots now visible in other places than before.

"It's before we came to Storybrooke", Miranda answered and pointed at a small bronze tablet on the foot of the globe. "3rd of March, 2014."

"When did we get to Storybrooke last time?" Wolfgang asked.

"Close to the end; it was April when we left and we hadn't been there very long", Catriona replied. "Why is it this date?"

"Because that's when there's a high concentration of Children of Magic present in New York", Ollivander replied as he slowly straightened up again. "If you want to limit yourself to this city, that's when we need to go there."

He studied the globe for a while in silence before he spoke again.

"Emma was in New York at that time", Clarissa suddenly said. "She lived there with Henry, without their memories of Storybrooke, and then Hook came and helped her regain hers."

"So we'll have to avoid running into any of them", Ella said. "Is there a way of tracking where they're at?"

"Tracking the Saviour should be a simple task", Ollivander said with a nod. "You don't have to worry about her."

He pushed himself up and out of his chair and closed the old worn book, then took both parchments and rolled them up.

"We'll leave once you are all ready."

The fifteen friends looked at one another, then nodded.

"We've got all our stuff with us, out in the cars", Rowan said. "We just have to get that and then we'll be off."

"Is there a way of using magic to bring it in here?" Maryse asked. "While not alerting Muggles of it, I mean."

"Muggles?" Ollivander said with a raised eyebrow. "I like that word. Muggles. What does it mean?"

"People without magic", Jade replied. "We have to get you to read the _Harry Potter_-books."

"We'll get around to that later", Toby said. "Now, how do we get our stuff..."

A soft pop was heard behind him, causing him to turn. Ella, Catriona, Indira and Wolfgang grinned at their friends' surprise when they noticed the pile of bags at their feet.

"It's seriously much easier than I thought", Ella said and stepped over the pile.

"But..." Tessa said, pointing at the bags, then at Ella, then at the bags. "But... what? How did..."

"We apparated", Wolfgang replied. "And like Ella said; it's really quite simple."

Ollivander chuckled.

"You are all naturals at this, I can assure you. Now let me pack some of my things as well and we'll be off."

"Ugh, I hated the other time portal", Clarissa groaned.


	4. 3: Red Cheeks

**I'm finally done posting intros to the new characters that will start to show up in a couple of chapters (you can check those in the one-shot collection _From Hog's Castle With Love_), meaning I can get back to actually writing this. Hope you're ready ;)**

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><p><em>New York City, New York<em>

_March, 2014_

The time portal released them and all of their things in what seemed to be a secluded section of Central Park. At least no one around seemed to have noticed their arrival.

"I added a shield charm to the spell", Ollivander admitted while they got up and brushed off. "Is it always this cold here?"

"It's March in New York; of course it's colder than Florida in September", Filipi remarked.

"Thankfully", Rachel said and opened her bag, "our more suitable clothes from Storybrooke appeared when we got our memories back."

She handed out the thicker jackets, gloves, shoes and scarves that had somehow fitted inside her bag.

"Did you use an Undetectable Extension Charm on that?" Toby questioned.

"I thought it might be a good idea", Rachel admitted. "Winter clothes take up a lot more space than summer clothes."

"Yes, I agree", Toby thoughtfully said, "and I think it might be a good idea to place all of our things inside that bag."

This caused several members of the group to frown.

"We will attract a lot more attention if we all suddenly show up in the middle of Central Park dragging big bags with us", Toby pointed out. "One bag will not be as suspicious."

"You're right", Rachel said and rose. "Alright, everyone, place your bags inside mine."

Ollivander watched with interest as all of the bags slipped into Rachel's red one, which she then closed and lifted up as if it weighed nothing.

"Interesting", he admitted. "A very useful charm."

"You mean you didn't know of this one?" Arianne asked.

"No, but like I said; it's very useful."

He accepted a long coat from Miranda, which somehow seemed to make him look even older. Once that was done they started to walk away from their landing spot, joining the New Yorkers walking on the paths through the park.

"We need some place to stay", Maryse quietly remarked as they walked.

"What about that address that Rumplestiltskin provided us with?" Indira asked.

"It's in an apartment complex", Maryse said, waving her phone to show that she had looked it up, "and it's quite small. We need to do some sort of stake out of it and see what it is, then maybe move in there. But first we need someplace else to stay."

"Is it south or north of here?" Rowan asked.

"South", Maryse replied. "If we take the metro it'll take us about 20 minutes to get there."

"Any cheap hotels nearby?" Miranda asked. Maryse wrote the question on her phone. After a while she groaned.

"Good luck finding someplace cheap to stay in New York, especially on Manhattan and that close to all the major sights."

"Money isn't a problem", Ollivander suddenly said.

"Of course it's a problem!" Clarissa hissed. The old man chuckled and shook his head at the comment.

"This isn't the Enchanted Forest; you can't intimidate people into doing things by saying that you're Ollivander", Filipi remarked. Ollivander chuckled again.

"Oh, there's no need for that, I can assure you."

* * *

><p>Despite the nagging fear that Ollivander's plan would not work the group took the metro south from Central Park and soon stood in front of a large building not far from Wooster Street. The hotel was called <em>SIXTY SoHo<em> and they estimated that the walk to the address that Rumplestiltskin had given them would take less than five minutes, if they managed to get rooms here.

Ollivander walked straight up to the desk in the lobby.

"Good day, Sir", he said to the clerk. "We are in need of some place to stay for a few nights."

The clerk stared at his strange appearance, which was not too unlike that of a homeless guy with the old brown coat and wild white hair, but before he could say anything another clerk hurried over. This one was tall, with a slightly tanned face, wide shoulders and strawberry blonde hair tied back in a small ponytail. He also sported a neatly trimmed beard.

"Mister Olivier!" he called and shook Ollivander's hand vigorously. "So good to see you again!"

The fifteen younger members of the company gaped at the scene.

"Is this your current class?" the clerk continued, looking at them with a wide smile. "I remember when he taught me and I can assure you; you are all in good hands."

He turned back towards Ollivander.

"The regular rooms, Sir?"

"Absolutely, Godric", Ollivander replied.

* * *

><p>"Well", Godric said when he stuck the card into the security lock on the strange-looking elevator behind the desk, "that went better than expected. A bit more forewarning next time would be appreciated, though."<p>

They stepped inside the elevator and found that it, except for being much larger than they had estimated, only held one button.

"What the hell is going on here?" Wolfgang eventually asked as the doors closed and Godric pressed the button. The man grinned widely and Ollivander chuckled.

"Everyone, meet Godric", he introduced. "My apprentice."

"How... what?" Toby asked, voicing the confusion that they all felt.

"Ollivander taught me how to use magic a long time ago", Godric answered, "and we found that my strength was Apparition, especially when it came to travelling between the worlds. So that's what I've been doing since I left Hog's Castle."

"I managed to get in touch with him when we came to New York and found that he was currently working here", Ollivander filled in.

"How..." Toby begun.

"Yes", Ollivander agreed. "Very convenient."

"Magic always is, isn't it?" Godric said with a grin, before the elevator pinged and the doors slid open. A collective gasp sounded through the group.

"No way", Catriona said. "No. Way."

"Welcome to my humble abode", Godric said with a small bow.

"Humble?" Chris exclaimed. "This place is _huge_!"

They stepped out of the elevator into the room which definitely did not seem to belong to the hotel. It was built out of stone and heavy red and golden tapestries hung along the walls. Tall windows went from floor to ceiling, overlooking the surroundings, and there were four fireplaces in which flames danced over large logs. If they turned right they walked straight into a dining room, decorated the same way, and to their left was a large library. On either side of the elevator doors were spiral staircases leading up to the second floor.

"Bedrooms and bathrooms are upstairs", Godric said and flopped himself down in one of the large red chairs. "Make yourselves at home."

"Is this another Fidelius Charm?" Rowan eventually asked.

"You bet", Godric replied with a grin. "They're my favourites. Along with some I invented along the way. Scotch?"

He pulled out a filled glass of whiskey from the empty air with another grin.

"I think we'd like to just settle in first", Maryse said, before grabbing onto Arianne's arm and pulling her along up the stairs to the right of the elevator.

"You certainly haven't changed a bit", Ollivander remarked as all of the younger members of the group had disappeared up the stairs. Godric's previous grin faltered as he downed the whiskey in his glass.

"I wish I could say the same for you", he sighed and leaned forward. "You do not look too well at all."

"I'll live", Ollivander replied and sank down in one of the chairs, "for a while. Long enough to help where I'm needed, after which it is time for you to step up and take my place."

"You know wandmaking was never my strongest craft", Godric pointed out and whisked out another glass of whiskey out of thin air. "That was Helga's area of expertise. I specialized in the Essentials, not the Naturals."

"Helga's long gone", Ollivander sighed and looked out through the tall windows at the New York skyline. "You did the right thing who ran when the time came to do so."

"Because you ordered me to", Godric said, "not because I wanted to. I was a soldier; I was used to follow and obey orders. Helga was far too loyal and caring towards you to leave when things got dark."

He downed the whiskey in the new glass, then twirled the object between his fingers.

"What about the others?" he eventually asked. "Rowena, Salazar..."

"I never heard from them again", Ollivander sadly admitted. "I believe that they both managed to survive, but where to find them... no, I do not know."

Godric nodded, still twirling the glass between his long fingers. He was missing one finger on his left hand, an injury that was new to Ollivander. Though with the man's confidence and habit of rushing into things he was not surprised to see this.

"I thought you would ask me to run again today", Godric bitterly admitted. "That you would not let me stand and fight."

"This is not our fight, Godric", Ollivander remarked. "Our time for battles is long gone. It's up to them now."

"Don't try it, old man", Godric said and rose, making the empty glass vanish. "I won't stand back, no matter what you tell me. No more."

Ollivander sighed and was about to protest when the sound of someone walking down the stairs made him fall silent.

"Ollivander!"

The voice came from the stairs to the left of the elevator and moments later Chris appeared.

"Some of us are going to check on that apartment", he continued. "Do you want to come along or do you want to stay here and rest?"

"Ah, I think it'd be better if I rested for a bit", Ollivander replied with a smile.

"I'll reserve us all some tables down in the restaurant for tonight", Godric said with a smile of his own. "My treat."

* * *

><p><strong>Gotcha ;)<strong>


	5. 4: Old Man Winter

**So sorry that I haven't updated anything in a while! The current course I take at uni has turned out to be extremely confusing and me and the members of my study group have spent this week trying to figure out exactly what's going on. Think we're on track now, but yeah, we'll see.**

**Anyway, enjoy this chapter, people!**

* * *

><p>"So what do you guys think of him?" Jade asked. "Of Godric, I mean. Godric Gryffindor."<p>

"I doubt that's his actual name", Rowan remarked. "Probably something similar, though."

"He's a typical Gryffindor", Clarissa said with a smirk. "Talkative, eager to rush into things, carefree..."

"Was that a description of me?" Rowan asked and placed an arm around her shoulders with a knowing grin.

"Why don't you two just get married?" Chris asked with a knowing smile. Rowan and Clarissa both shook their heads at him.

"Well, he seems alright", Rachel said, "apart from the fact that I think he might be hiding something."

"What makes you say that?" Clarissa asked. Rachel shrugged.

"Intuition, I guess."

They walked around the corner two blocks from their hotel, now standing on Wooster Street. Like most other long streets in New York it held both shops and apartment buildings. The ones in this section were brick houses, usually with said shops at the bottom and apartments above.

"This one's 59", Chris said, looking at the sign of the nearest building. "89's further up ahead."

They continued up the road, passing house after house built out of red or brown bricks. Number 89, however, was of a muddy white colour, with bricks poking out of the paint unevenly. None of them spoke as they headed in through the worn black door.

They now stood in a narrow lobby with dirty tiled floor. There was a metal gate in front of the stairs, with buttons that would call the inhabitants of each apartment in case someone needed to get inside.

"Which apartment should we check?" Rowan asked.

"What, you're worried about getting through the gate?" Jade asked.

"I think he's more worried that we might walk into somebody else's apartment", Rachel remarked with an amused smile.

"Well, none of the names seem familiar", Chris said, studying the buttons, "but there's one apartment without a name on it."

He smiled back at them, before drawing his wand.

"_Alohomora._"

The lock in the gate clicked and he easily swung it open, taking the steps two at a time.

They arrived at an apartment on the top floor. The corridor was painted in a murky green colour that was flaking from the walls and the industrial light bulbs illuminating the place did nothing to inspire a welcoming feeling.

"This is it", Chris said and stopped in front of the nearest door. "Could someone keep a lookout?"

"I'll do it", Clarissa volunteered.

"You're actually saying we should _break_ into this apartment without seeing if someone might be living in here?" Rachel questioned. "Rumplestiltskin might have sent us to some contact of his."

"Honestly, now you start thinking rationally?" Chris asked. "It's in the middle of the day; if someone lives here that person should not be home by now. We'll be in and out before he realizes we've even been here."

He then raised his wand and mumbled the unlocking spell once again. The rusty lock clicked and the door swung slightly inwards, unbalanced on his hinges. Chris poked his head around it.

"No one's home", he said and stepped in. "Told you so."

The others followed, with Clarissa bringing up the rear. The apartment was small and filled with objects that looked like they might belong in the sixties, or earlier. There were old radios and gramophones, clocks and worn-down couches. By the window opposite the door stood two bookshelves filled with books and in the window hung a large dream catcher.

"This guy's got some strange taste", Jade remarked and held up an old radio. "I wonder how old he might be."

"Seventies, maybe?" Rowan suggested.

"Or eighties", Clarissa agreed.

"Or older."

The others turned around. Rachel had stopped by the entrance as they went in and was now holding a pile of letters that had obviously been shoved in beneath the door.

"What?" Rowan asked. Before Rachel could answer, Chris came back from the bedroom. He stopped on the threshold, his face pale.

"Wait, what's wrong with you two?" Clarissa asked, looking from one to the other. "What did you find? What's with those letters?"

"A ghost", Rachel replied, her voice trembling slightly as she glanced over at Chris. "The person who lived here... he's..."

Chris swallowed and cleared his throat before he was able to fill in the right answer.

"This was Neal's place."

* * *

><p>"You should have no trouble finding apprentices here", Godric said and leaned back on the couch. "I tend to stay clear of people with magic, but I sense them sometimes when they pass nearby."<p>

"Is that a thing?" Miranda asked. "Being able to sense when others with magic are nearby, I mean."

"Some are able to do it, some aren't", Godric replied with a shrug. "Just like some are born with extra powers that cannot really be placed into any certain category. It often depends on where they are born. People with telepathic abilities are very common in Camelot, for example, and..."  
>"Wait, they are?" Toby interrupted.<p>

"Yes, I've met quite a few from there", Godric said and nodded, "before they decided to close their borders to protect themselves from the Dark Curse and things like that."

"So that might explain Toby's powers, then?" Indira asked. "Ollivander said he came from a family in Camelot."

"You have them?" Godric said and turned towards Toby with a grin. Toby nodded slightly.

"Yes, but they come and go. I've tried to get in touch with them again after we regained our memories, but nothing."

"It'll come, don't worry about it."

The bearded man rose and walked over to the windows, looking out over Manhattan. He had taken up Ollivander's role as a mentor for them now that the old man was resting. Godric had lived on Earth for a long time, changing his identity every now and then to keep himself fresh and disappearing to other worlds for limited times to make it seem like his old self was dead and gone. What mattered most to them was that he knew New York very well; it was a place he had returned to many times and he was able to provide them with strategies for finding the apprentices Ollivander wanted them to find.

"The best way would be to set up some sort of cover", he now said. "Some place that people can come to without seeing it as something odd. Shops work well for that, or restaurants or cafés."

"Good luck finding a place for something like that", Filipi remarked.

"What about the address that Rumplestiltskin sent us?" Wolfgang asked. "Maybe that could work as some sort of shop."

"Then what should we sell?" Tessa asked. "The clothes off our back?"

"So you suggest we open a café and learn how to bake big batches of cookies instead?" Wolfgang replied.

"As if we haven't done that before", Tessa pointed out.

"You don't have to cook or bake anything", Godric said. "Someone's stationed here and use a multiplying spell on the stuff they sell down in the restaurant, which is then transported to your café using Apparition."

The gang stared at him in surprise.

"And that wouldn't be considered stealing or something along those lines?" Indira eventually asked.

"Why would it?" Godric replied with a laugh. "You're only replicating their food; not stealing it. In fact you might provide them with more than what they've been able to produce themselves, if you cast the spell too many times."

"So, we're opening up a café?" Maryse asked and looked around at the others. "Then what?"

"You use a spell on it that makes it impossible to find unless you have magic", Godric replied and flopped down on the couch again. "Ollivander can teach you that; he used it on the old castle. While you guys keep the business running like a regular place me or, preferably, Ollivander will stay in the background studying the guests and trying to find some suitable apprentices for you all. If we find some we'll find a way to bring them back there for a talk."

"That sounds like a plan for kidnapping people", Toby remarked. Godric chuckled.

"Maybe", he admitted, "but it's a good plan."

"So we know what we're supposed to do", Tessa said, "and we know how to find these apprentices. Now we just need a place to..."

The next moment someone's phone went off and everyone started checking to see if it was theirs. It turned out to be Arianne's.

"Rachel", she said as she answered the phone, then pressed the speaker button to allow everyone to hear what was going on.

"Are you guys still on Wooster Street?" Filipi asked.

"Yeah", Rachel's voice replied, "and it turns out this apartment belongs to someone we know. Neal Cassidy."

Someone in the group gave a low whistle of surprise.

"How's Chris dealing with it?" Tessa asked.

"Still shocked", Rachel replied. "I think we all are."

"But Neal's in the Enchanted Forest now, right?" Indira asked. "So the place is empty?"

"Well, yes, it's empty, but we can't use it for anything", Rachel replied. "Clarissa's explained that Emma is going to come here right before she regains her memories and returns to Storybrooke, so we're going to have to leave it as it is."

"And we were only in need of a location for our café-plan to work", Miranda sighed.

"What café-plan?" Rachel asked, sounding confused.

"We'll explain when you guys get back", Toby replied.

"Can't we use the apartment for a while, though?" Miranda asked. "It's almost a month before our past selves get to Storybrooke and I don't think Emma had been back there for long before that either."

"How long might this recruitment mission take?" Ella asked and looked at Godric. The bearded man shrugged.

"Ollivander said that the density of people with magi in this town right now is quite high, so I guess we might be able to find them all in a week, maybe two."

"Alright, so how about this?" Ella said. "We create something like this place that people will enter when they walk in through the door that really leads to Neal's apartment, but only those with magic; everyone else will enter the apartment itself. That way we won't have to change anything about the apartment and we won't disrupt the timeline more than we already might have done."

"Is that possible?" Catriona asked. Godric nodded, looking pleased with the plan.

"Very", he said. "I suggest you all get to work if you're going to do this in less than two weeks, though."

"We're on our way", Rachel said over the phone, before hanging up.


	6. 5: Hot Chocolate

**This course is killing me, but I think I can see the light at the end of the line by now! Basically we have an individual assignment and a group assignment and the group assignment is so... fuzzy and badly explained (if you ask the teacher responsible for it a question that could be answered with "yes" or "no" you get an essay back, so he's no help), so we've had to sit down and try work out exactly what we need to do in order to not be cramped with work during Christmas. So yesterday we worked together for several hours and managed to work out a lot of it so right now things are looking good for us in that area. Now I have to produce a draft of about 1000 words for the individual assignment to present on Friday (note: draft, not full assignment) and after that I'll be able to take things a bit easier and focus on this for a while. Which I desperately crave right now!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and I hope to publish the next one tomorrow or on Friday, and then more during the weekend!**

* * *

><p>They set to work the same night. Toby, Maryse, Arianne and Wolfgang were the ones to create the café itself through an expanded Fidelius Charm, which they managed to do with Ollivander's guidance. The old man also suggested charming the hallway itself so that the ones heading into the café would be able to smell things from there that they liked, such as coffee. Which was, by the way, a drink that Ollivander had become very fond of.<p>

Back at Godric's apartment Chris, Indira, Jade and Tessa worked on a number of charmed flyers that would appear to people with magic, interesting them in the café itself. The text would change depending on what the person was looking for.

Clarissa, Rowan and Catriona had been sent off to find an outfit that would work for them while they worked. The others soon got used to seeing various images on their phones sent from Catriona portraying Clarissa and Rowan in various outfits that they were asked to comment on.

"It's like they're planning their wedding", Filipi mused where she sat by one of the desks in Godric's library. She, Rachel, Ella and Miranda were working on creating a set of plausible curriculums for the various subjects.

"You know, they just might", Miranda said and showed them the latest picture, portraying Rowan in a dark brown suit with a red tie and Clarissa in a white dress adorned with sequins.

"Are they even trying to find something that we can wear in a coffee-shop?" Ella asked. The others chuckled in reply.

"It's difficult to separate the subjects, isn't it?" Rachel said after a while. She had stuck her yellow pencil behind her ear, a habit she claimed to have acquired while at university, and was shuffling through the various papers of curriculum suggestions. At least Godric had actual papers for them to write on instead of parchments, although Ollivander had been a little disappointed about this.

"I mean", Rachel continued, "take Healing for example. It's so incredibly close-linked with Potions, and Herbology, and Charms. And Duelling is about the same as Defence Against the Dark Arts; it's just a bit more tactical."

"And it's hard to plan out a curriculum for a course you've never taught before when you don't even know how long that course is going to take", Miranda remarked. "We're in for quite a challenge here."

"Well, hopefully our future apprentices will understand that we're as new to this as they are", Ella pointed out and placed another book onto the pile of books they needed to go through.

"Do you wonder what they'll be like?" Miranda asked and sent her notes from a book regarding Divination across the table to Rachel. "Our apprentices, I mean. Do you think they'll all be American, since we limited ourselves to New York?"

"Not necessarily", Filipi replied. "I mean, New York's a pretty diverse place, isn't it? And we chose this time because the density of people with magic was really high. So there might be a lot of people visiting that will end up being our apprentices."

"I wonder how we'll actually deal with that", Rachel sighed and added Miranda's notes to her list of notes regarding Divination. "We have the advantage of time travel, so no one's missing us yet, but what about them? We'll be pulling them away from everything, won't we?"

The others solemnly nodded in agreement. None of them were entirely sure about the prospect of getting apprentices, for more than one reason, but Ollivander had openly refused to let them return to Storybrooke without finding them. Logically they could stay in New York until they knew that their past selves had left Storybrooke and then go there, with or without apprentices, but something about that made them uneasy and caused them to continue the search.

* * *

><p>The next day, a Tuesday, they inspected the newly created café at 89 Wooster Street. It was a small and cosy place, with mismatching furniture, which somehow made it look even homelier. The counter was currently empty, but the next morning they would open up the place and sell drinks and food originally produced for <em>SIXTY SoHo<em>, only multiplied by magic.

"Most of them will be older than you", Ollivander said where he sat in one of the chairs. "You were some of the last to be sent through and my portals to this world acted a bit weird, seeing as you all did not arrive in the order I sent you."

"Teaching older people isn't always that easy", Ella remarked with a slight grimace.

"Well, we'll have to try", Wolfgang said.

"Maybe we should set an age limit?" Catriona suggested. "Indira's the oldest here, so how about we don't take any apprentices who are older than her?"

"Is there a way for us to tell if they are older than 27, though?" Indira asked. "That's what I am now, right? With the Missing Year included?"  
>"Yeah", Rachel agreed, "I guess that's it."<p>

"I have created a spell that can tell if someone's above 30", Godric said, shooting his old master a quick glance. "For scientific reasons, of course."

Ollivander huffed.

"I'm sure it was."

"30's a good mark, though, isn't it?" Tessa asked. "Then they would not be too much older than the oldest of us."

"We should also definitely not take any who are younger than Jade", Toby said. "19's the lower limit."

"That might be trickier to find out, though", Godric pointed out.

"We'll find a way to do it", Toby replied. They then headed into the backroom, which would appear as the kitchen itself to their guests. In fact it was a room with a good view of the restaurant kept for Ollivander, who would try to see which guests would be suitable as apprentices. The old man looked very pleased with how they had decorated the room.

"Oh look", he commented, "I even have my own coffee-maker."

"Don't drink too much of that or you'll have to go to the bathroom every fifteen minutes", Arianne pointed out. Ollivander did not reply; he was busy admiring the little machine in question. Godric rolled his eyes at him behind his back.

"I'll try and search for people as well", he then told them. "I've got a cab that I can use."

"You've got a cab?" Clarissa asked with a frown. Godric grinned.

"Best way to get out and talk to people; everyone likes a nice cabdriver. Besides, I can track people with magic. Might be possible for me to get some of the ones who are some way away from here to come here."

"It's worth a shot", Filipi said. "Anything to speed up the process."

"Who will do the first shift tomorrow?" Ollivander asked, having finished studying the coffee-machine.

"Ella and Rachel will be stationed at the hotel, copying the food itself and transporting it here", Toby replied. "Chris, Maryse, Clarissa and Miranda will be here."

"Good, good", the old man said. "Looks like we've got it all covered. Now all we need is to return to the hotel, get a good night's sleep, and tomorrow the adventure begins."

"Honestly, Ollivander?" Jade said. "The adventure began even before you decided to send us to the Enchanted Forest."

"Which is what we've decided to name this place, by the way", Catriona said. "_The Enchanted Forest Café_."

* * *

><p>They all certainly felt the excitement the next morning when Clarissa placed out the enchanted sign on the road at 10am. Just like the flyers, which they had sent out all over the city, the sign would only be visible for those who had magic. Everyone else would see a bike or something else that they could not walk straight through.<p>

"And we're off", Clarissa said when she got back up to the café itself. Maryse and Miranda were busy placing out various types of cookies and cold food in the refrigerated counter while Chris was bringing them out from the back-room, where Rachel and Ella were sending them. Ollivander was back there as well, sipping on a large cup of coffee while writing down notes on a piece of parchment.

"When do you think the first one will show up?" Clarissa asked and walked over to the windows, peering down onto the street.

"Be patient", Miranda remarked. "We might not even find one of them today."

"Don't be so sure of that", Chris said as he came out of the back-room. He was balancing a plate of cupcakes in his left hand while holding his phone in his right.

"Godric just texted me", he said as he passed the plate to Tessa. "He's managed to track a very potential apprentice to a bank not far from here. He'll stick around and see if he can spot him, maybe send him here."

"Looks like the taxi plan was a good one", Clarissa said with a grin, before the buzzer sounded. Someone was asking to come up to the café. Tessa pressed the button that would unlock the metal gate downstairs, then turned and looked at the other three.

"Showtime."

* * *

><p>"They've got their first guest", Ella said, nodding at her phone. "Older guy, so probably not apprentice material."<p>

"Has anyone thought about what we're going to do with the money we earn from this?" Rachel asked as she duplicated a set of mozzarella baguettes.

"Toby suggested that we give it to some charity", Ella replied as she sent the baguettes from their protected table in the hotel's restaurant to the café on Wooster Street. Rachel nodded, looking pleased.

"We're going to need some hot chocolate to copy", she then said, looking at the restaurant's menu. When it came to hot drinks it was very limited.

"I'll go and buy some from a nearby café", she then suggested. Ella nodded while working the duplication charm on a cup of espresso. Rachel rose, put on her coat and walked out of the restaurant, through the lobby and out onto the street. She looked around, trying to determine where she would buy the chocolate in question. They just needed one cup of it for the day; once it was sent to _The Enchanted Forest Café_ the ones on duty there could heat it up again, so they did not need to buy warm ones constantly. She did not want to buy from a chain café, like Starbucks, but she had noticed a smaller, private café further down the street their hotel lay on.

The café was dark and the room was so small that it was hard to not make it seem crowded, even though she estimated that there were not more than five people in line and three occupying the tables. The people behind the counter worked efficiently, however, and she soon saw how the guy in front of her received her order. When he then turned around his worn shoulder bag got caught in one of the chair nearby, which caused him to stumble and spill his coffee onto her.

"God damn it!" she exclaimed before she could stop herself.

"Shit", the guy said, "shit, I'm so sorry."

Rachel grabbed the paper towel he was trying to wipe the coffee away with and quickly inspected the damage it might have done to her coat. It should survive with a proper wash, or perhaps there was a spell that could help even quicker.

"I'm sorry", the guy repeated. "I'll pay for the wash."

"No, it'll be fine", Rachel said. "It's not that bad."

She tossed the paper towel into a bin before turning towards him again. He had dark blonde hair, blue eyes and even with a jacket to protect him from the chilly air she could not help but notice that he was well-trained.

"Really", she insisted when seeing his guilty look, "it'll be fine. Don't worry about it."

"We're hoping to move to a place that keeps these things from happening", the girl behind the counter said. "It's the third time someone gets caught or stumbles over a chair this week."

Her colleague was already preparing a new cup of coffee for the guy, while she turned towards Rachel.

"What would you like?" she asked. "It's on the house, as compensation."

"A cup of hot chocolate", Rachel replied, "and certainly not; I'll pay for that. How else are you going to get enough money to get a bigger place?"

The girl behind the counter stared at her in surprise, before she hurriedly started preparing the chocolate.

"You're not from New York, are you?" the guy asked with a slightly amused smile as he accepted his new cup of coffee.

"No, I'm just here for a short while, with some of my friends", Rachel replied. "Is it that obvious?"

"Kind of", he said. Rachel rolled her eyes at him and accepted her coffee, paying for it and insisting that she did not need any of the change. The guy was waiting for her and this time he made sure not to get caught in any of the chairs on the way out.

"I do want to make it up to you, somehow", he said as they got out.

"Seriously, there's no need", Rachel said.

"How about dinner, tomorrow night?"

She turned to stare at him.

"So you met me less than ten minutes ago, spilled coffee on me, don't even know my name and now you're asking me out on a date?"

"You have to admit all that happened in there was quite a lot like a romantic comedy", the guy replied, sounding amused. He then held out his hand towards her.

"I'm Sam."

"Rachel", she said, accepting the hand.

"So, dinner tomorrow?" Sam asked.

"Persistent, aren't you?" Rachel replied with a smile. Sam grinned.

"Like I said; I want to make it up to you."

Rachel studied him for a while before she nodded.

"Sure", she said. "Dinner sounds fine."

Sam smiled, then moved his cup of coffee to his right hand to allow him to dig around in his bag. After a while he managed to get hold of a slightly crumpled card.

"Text me your number", he said, "and I'll set something up for us."

"Sure", Rachel replied, accepting the card and then walking away, heading back to the hotel. All the way back she questioned if all of that had actually happened or if she had imagined herself in a situation that seemed to belong in a romantic comedy movie. That would have been a lot like her.


	7. 6: Snuggle Up

**Last assignment of the semester due tomorrow afternoon and I find it so boring because I have to reference basically everything I write but none of the things that I want to write about because I've seen it done IRL instead of just read about it aren't mentioned in the texts I have to reference so *ugh***

**Luckily we're only handing in a draft tomorrow and it will only be judged by our classmates, so no pressure, really.**

**Anyway; new chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Their first few guests were older people, in their forties, fifties or even sixties. Ollivander had shaken his head at every one of them and even if he had not they would have objected to them due to their age. Authority was always easier to show when you were the older one in a pair, or at least not twenty years younger.<p>

At 11.15am Maryse's phone buzzed while she was back in the "kitchen". The display read G Gregson. Godric.

"Any luck?" Maryse asked when she answered. Godric chuckled in reply.

"What, I don't even get a hello now?" he asked. Maryse rolled her eyes.

"I can't talk long; I'm supposed to be preparing a sandwich for a guy", she said. In the corner of her eye she saw Ollivander smirking.

"Well, you should prepare to make some good tea", Godric said. "The guy from the bank; he's got a good ounce of magic in him and he's just below thirty, so he might be a good match for your group. Appears he's done something quite well because he exited with his boss, who kept praising him. Think his name was Brandon."

"Who, the boss or the guy with magic?" Maryse asked while bustling around with some equipment they had prepared, just to make it sound like a kitchen.

"The guy", Godric replied, sounding amused. Though he seemed to always be amused by something.

"Anyway", he continued, "I offered him a ride but he said he'd rather walk, asked for a café that served good tea and I gave him the directions to 89 Wooster Street. You should expect him to arrive within half an hour."

"Gotcha", Maryse said. "Thanks."

She then hung up just as Tessa entered the room.

"Godric's found someone", Maryse whispered while grabbing the sandwich that Ella or Rachel had sent there. "A guy. He's coming in about thirty minutes."

Tessa gave a small squeal in excitement while Maryse hurried out with the sandwich. After delivering it to the waiting customer she poked Chris on the shoulder.

"Godric called", she said in a hushed tone. "He's found someone."

"Awesome", Chris whispered back, before continuing to fill a paper bag with an order of six strawberry cupcakes. Clarissa was running around cleaning tables at the moment, so she would have to wait for the news.

The doorbell buzzed twenty-two minutes after Maryse had answered her phone and, with a quick glance towards her friends, she unlocked the door downstairs. Then followed several minutes of waiting before a young man entered the café. He was tall and gangly, though somehow still managed to look fit. Perhaps it was the broad shoulders under the long, expensive black coat. His brown hair was combed sideways and he had sharp cheekbones, along with strikingly pale grey eyes. He studied the café with an open interest from his position in the doorway before walking up to the counter.

"Good morning, sir", Chris greeted.

"Good morning", the man replied. His accent was distinctly British.

"What can we get you?" Chris asked.

"A large cup of tea would be nice", the man said. "Earl Grey, no milk or sugar added."

"Certainly", Chris said and typed it into the register. "Anything else?"

The man's eyes drifted towards the large collection of cookies on display, hesitated, then shook his head.

"No, that'll be all", he said.

"Perfect", Chris said. "Will you be taking it with you?"

The man hesitated again.

"No, I'll stay here for a while", he then said. Afterwards he looked seemingly surprised at his own reply.

"Alright, that'll be $1.50", Chris said. The man quickly pulled out his wallet and paid for the tea.

"Keep the change", he said when Chris was about to give him some. "I saw that you give a lot of money to charity on the sign on the door."

"We do", Chris agreed with a smile. "Well, why don't you take a seat and I'll be right out with your cup."

The man nodded, looked around and eventually walked over to one of the small round tables by the windows. He neatly folded his coat and hung it over the back of his chair, revealing a well-made dark grey suit beneath it. Chris quickly busied himself with pretending to make the tea, which Ella was sending there in this very moment. Tessa passed it through a hidden panel from the kitchen when it was supposed to be made.

"Here you go, sir", Chris said as he placed the cup down in front of the man. "I hope it's strong enough."

The man smiled. Not a fake, pleased smile but a genuinely happy one.

"I believe it is", he said. "Thank you."

Chris quickly hurried back behind the counter and helped Clarissa put up an illusion of them working behind the counter while they in fact quickly slipped into the kitchen. Maryse and Tessa were already there, along with Ollivander, who was standing up and watching the man through the, from this side, see-through wall.

"Well?" Chris asked.

"Duelling", Ollivander replied. "A strong talent for it; he is a natural strategist with good instincts."

"So he'd be Wolf's apprentice", Tessa said, looking out at the man sipping his tea. "Think they'd get along?"

"Hopefully", Chris replied. "I'll slip him the card when I clean up."

The card looked like a simple business card and would behave like one for the majority of the time as well, until they had found apprentices for everyone. Then a compelling charm on the card would make the card's owner seek out the location written on the card at a set time and day; the day when they would gather all of their apprentices and reveal everything. It was not a charm to be used "willy-nilly", according to Ollivander, and belonged within the Sorcery-subject, which held many Dark spells, but for this task it was well-suited.

"I'll alert the others", Tessa said and fished out her phone from a pocket. With that the meeting in the backroom was done and they went back to manning the café.

* * *

><p>They had set up a schedule for when people would be manning which station. Seeing as Ella was to be the Apparition Master, and thus had the strongest talent for Apparition, she was stationed at the hotel the whole time together with one other person. Those would rotate between Rachel, Toby, Catriona, Indira and Wolfgang, seeing as they also held some slightly stronger talent for the subject and thus could give Ella some breaks.<p>

The café itself was manned by four people at a time, also on a rotating schedule, with shifts occurring once per day; at 2pm. On this first day their replacements showed up thirty minutes earlier.

"We got out of class earlier than we thought", Rowan said as they walked in behind the counter. That was their cover; exchange students at New York University who had decided to open up a small café. So far it had worked out really well.

"Kiss her", Jade hissed as Rowan and Clarissa hugged, causing the pair to quickly jump apart.

"Don't rush them, Jade", Maryse said while removing her nametag. Jade just grinned in reply while braiding her brown hair.

"Ugh, I need to get this cut", she muttered when the braid did not turn out as she wanted.

"Maybe we should go see a hairdresser someday", Clarissa suggested. "I'd like to do something about my hair as well."

"You're on!"

Other than Jade and Rowan there was also Filipi and Indira in the new gang. They quickly took over the positions of their friends and continued serving their guests. The British banker, whom Godric had believed was named Brandon, was still there, reading a newspaper on his iPad while sipping on his second cup of tea, which had also been accompanied by a cranberry muffin. Between the two cups of tea he had also bought a mini-pie for lunch. In short he seemed quite at home in the café, despite looking way too fancy for it.

At this time the café was otherwise quite empty, as lunch-hour had passed and it was not yet time for people to want some afternoon coffee. In fact Brandon was the only one who was sitting down; everyone else only came in and ordered something to bring with them. And none of them were suitable as apprentices according to Ollivander; they were either too old, had a too small gift or just did not match any of the old gang, which apparently was something he took very much into consideration.

Brandon left just after 2pm, thanking them for their good service, even though the new gang were not the ones who had served him anything. He also promised to come back, then held up the door for a girl who had just been buzzed in. She was at least seven inches shorter than him and her thin frame made him look almost like a giant next to her, but there was also a certain air about the girl who entered that made people look twice at her. Confidence, rebelliousness and a tomboyish look; her chest was flat and she wore an open grey jacket above a worn, black shirt with a hardly visible logo, torn jeans and green Converse. A pair of large headphones (green) hung around her neck and her long brown hair was partly held back from her face with what looked like a pair of chopsticks.

"Hi", she said and walked up to the counter. Her accent was also British.

"Afternoon", Filipi said. "What can I get you?"

The girl looked inside the refrigerated counter and pointed at a mozzarella baguette.

"One of those and a Coke?" she said.

"Sure", Filipi said. "That'll be $8.45. Will you be eating here or do you want a bag?"

The girl paid with a card.

"Eating here", she then replied. "Also, is there some place where I can charge my phone?"

"Over there, in the corner by the books", Filipi replied. "I'll come out with your food in a moment."

The girl smiled and walked over to the table Filipi had pointed at, throwing her worn shoulder-bag onto one of the chairs on top of her jacket and pulling out a phone charger from it. Filipi was placing the goods on a tray when she saw Rowan motioning to her from the kitchen. She nodded and hurriedly headed out with the food.

"This wasn't open two days ago, was it?" the girl asked after thanking her. "I walked this route back to my hotel then as well, but then I saw no sign."

"No", Filipi replied, "we opened today."

"Oh, nice", the girl said, before turning back towards her phone. Filipi hurriedly walked back behind the counter, reinforced the previous illusion spell of work happening there and walked into the kitchen.

"She's one of them?" she asked, seeing Ollivander standing up, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

"Oh yes", he said, "and this time we have her future master on set as well?"

Filipi, Jade and Indira all looked at one another, then out at the girl in the corner.

"Which one of us are we talking about?" Jade asked. "Because I didn't feel that much of a connection to her."

Rowan cleared his throat.

"Actually", he said, "he means me. She's meant for Herbology-studies."

* * *

><p><strong>Also I'm going to do a 12 Days Of FanFic Christmas where I post one fic every day between the 13th of December and the 24th of December. They'll be Christmas-Winter- and Romance-themed and there's a poll located at the top of my profile where you can vote for various couples, _but_ if you can't find your fav couples there please send me a message about it! I won't stick to the poll-results to 100% if there's a tie, so then I'll also look at messages I've received about other couples :)**


	8. 7: Better Inside Than Out

**First of all; I'm so sorry for not posting anything in a while. Christmas and NYE have been really hectic, but fun and amazing none the less, so posting fanfic chapters has been the last thing on my mind. Anyway; hope you all had an amazing Christmas and NYE as well and here's to a wonderful 2015!**

* * *

><p>The mood when they all gathered for dinner in Godric's "apartment" (or whatever you were supposed to call it) was a strange one. Those that had been working at the café were tired; there had been a lot more people with magic present in New York than they had realized and that had meant a lot of service. Ollivander was very happy; he had never believed that they would be able to find two possible apprentices in a day.<p>

"Two", he said, his grey eyes gleaming with excitement. "We found _two_ today. It might actually be possible that they can all be here within a week if this continues to be this successful."

"Ollivander, you've said that three times already", Indira remarked. The old man blinked.

"I have?" he asked. "My apologies."

"I didn't know that we might have apprentices of a different sex than ourselves", Filipi said.

"Why not?" Ella asked. "There's no difference, is there?"

"Not really, no", Filipi agreed. "I don't know why I thought that, really."

"Well, you're not alone in that", Jade said. "For some reason I'd prefer teaching a 30 year old girl Astronomy and not a 30 year old guy..."

"Miranda suggested something today that I find really interesting", Toby suddenly said, causing everyone around the table to turn towards him and Miranda.

"We're all capable of more than one type of magic, right?" Miranda said. "That means our apprentices are as well. How about they get to learn more than one type of magic? Ollivander mentioned that that was possible, back when we started discussing this."

"Miranda suggested that we host lessons Monday through Friday every week", Toby filled in, "and that an apprentice takes four subjects. They'll have two lessons each week in their main subject and then one lessons per elective subject."

He pulled out a paper from his pocket and unfolded it, causing people to lean forward and look at the drawn table.

"Here's an example", he said. "This apprentice has Charms as their main subject, so he, or she, starts with Charms, with me, on Monday morning. Then he, or she, has Fairy Magic with Tessa on Tuesday morning, Transfiguration with Maryse on Tuesday afternoon, Potions with Filipi on Wednesday afternoon, and then finishes the week with another Charms lesson with me on Friday morning."

"It looks good", Rachel said, studying the paper intently. She had been very quiet throughout the dinner.

"It feels more and more like a school every day", Wolfgang remarked.

"Who will be in charge of making all of these schedules?" Arianne asked. "There will be at least fifteen, maybe more if some of us get more than one apprentice, and if they are going to study with more than one of us they need to work together."

"I'll do it", Rachel said. "You voted me as Deputy Headmistress and I have an interest in making those things. My old colleagues thought I was crazy whenever it came to making schedules for the classes in the beginning of each year."

"Speaking of crazy things; what happened when you were out collecting hot chocolate today?" Ella asked. Rachel tensed and a slight blush crept up her cheeks.

"What?" Clarissa said and leaned forward. "What are you talking about? What happened?"

"We realized that the restaurant downstairs had no hot chocolate", Ella explained, "so Rachel went out to get some from a café. When she came back her coat was covered in spilled coffee."

"Not covered", Rachel muttered and focused on her plate. "A few specks."

"What happened?" Catriona asked.

"Did you get into a fight over the last cup?" Jade suggested, causing several of her friends to gape at her. The youngest girl in the group shrugged.

"It could happen", she said.

"Well, I suspect that's not what happened to Rachel", Tessa said. The Swedish girl looked like she wanted to disappear, something that was not that usual to see. Several years ago that would probably have been something she had wanted to do every time she was watched intently by sixteen pair of eyes, but since she had started her university studies and then started teaching she had become very comfortable in this situation. Thus the appearance she now showed her friends was not a common one, rather a highly unusual one.

"Rachel?" Miranda said. "We won't judge, whatever it is that's happened. We did that once and that almost ended in..."

She paused and shivered, thinking back at the night in Sherwood Forest when Rachel had fallen down from Rapunzel's tower and had her back severely damaged by the sharp rocks below. The reminder caused everyone else to look away as well, but Rachel gave a small smile.

"It's alright", she said. "It's just... I don't even know myself, for sure, what happened."

"Has someone subjected you to a memory charm?" Ollivander immediately inquired.

"No", Rachel replied. "No, it's nothing like that. I know what happened, but... God, it's hard to explain."

"Tell us what you can explain", Chris said. "It's nothing bad, is it?"

"No, I don't think so", Rachel said, giving another small smile. "I walked to the small café down the street. It was very small and the guy in front of me got caught in a chair with his bag and happened to spill his coffee on me."

"No way!" Clarissa gasped. "That's so romantic!"

"Wait, you think that's something romantic?" Rowan asked, frowning at her. Clarissa grinned sheepishly.

"Maybe."

"It was strange", Rachel corrected, "but he insisted on making it up to me and it ended in him asking me to dinner tomorrow."

"I told you it was romantic!" Clarissa yelled, throwing her hands up into the air in triumph and nearly knocking over her glass in the process.

"So you're going to dinner with a completely unknown person tomorrow?" Toby asked with a frown. "What if he's some kind of serial killer?"

"I'll bring my wand along", Rachel replied, "and I doubt it will be something that continues after tomorrow. I know better than that."

Despite Clarissa, Catriona and some of the other girls trying to keep the discussion on Rachel's mysterious date going it soon changed back to the subject of apprentices and their school. No one noticed the thoughtful look that Ollivander and Godric exchanged before the older man excused himself for the night.

* * *

><p>The next day Indira and Ella were the ones stationed at the hotel on Apparition duty, while Toby, Rachel, Miranda and Arianne took the first shift at the café. Just like the day before the sky was clear and the temperature rather chilly, meaning they would most likely get a lot of order concerning hot beverages. It was hard to say if the number of guests had increased since the day before, but it was definitely around the same number.<p>

"It is so good to see young people taking an interest in running businesses like this", a lady in her sixties said as she paid for her latte, "and that you give so much to charity. You truly are role-models of your generation."

Miranda smiled, while also wondering who this woman would have become if she had grown up back in the Enchanted Forest. They were all sent from there to begin with; Ollivander had confirmed that every single guest they had was either a Child of Magic or a descendant of one. This woman, this New Yorker in a cashmere coat and designer shoes, was definitely hard to picture as an inhabitant of the Enchanted Forest.

The next moment she saw Toby frantically waving at her from the kitchen, causing her to put up their work illusion and hurry back.

"Please don't tell me she's going to be an apprentice", she said, looking at Ollivander. "We said they could not be more than 30 years old."

"No, no", the old man said.

"It's Godric", Toby answered. "He just called and said he'd found someone else, a woman. She already knew about this place so he hasn't spoken to her, but they're heading this way now."

"Why did we have to put up the illusion for that?" Arianne asked with a frown. "We could have spread that message while working."

"Because this woman is bringing something with her", Toby replied. "Godric picked her up close to a library and she was holding an old book. A really, really old book; one of those that you shouldn't even be allowed to bring outside the library walls. One of those that you read with plastic gloves because you're afraid you might damage it."

"Don't tell me that book is something that you caused", Rachel said, looking at Ollivander.

"I don't know", Ollivander replied. "Not yet. We'll have to wait and see until she gets here, but I would not be surprised if the book is about magic. It is highly possible."


	9. 8: Spiced Pies

The buzzer announcing a new guest sounded not ten minutes later and the glances they shared held the excitement and curiosity they all felt at who this woman might be and why she was carrying around a book that might contain information about magic. The woman who eventually entered through the door was clutching the mentioned book to her and her gaze flickered around the café, eventually landing on the corner they had dubbed the Reading Corner as it held a large, cushioned chair and lay slightly secluded behind a pair of low bookcases.

"Good morning", Arianne, manning the cashier at the time, called. The woman tore her gaze from the Reading Corner and walked over to the counter, pushing her long, dark-brown hair out of her face as she did.

"Hi", she said. "Could I have a cup of hot chocolate, please?"

"Absolutely", Arianne replied. "That's a cool book you have, by the way."

The woman quickly looked down at her possession, tightening her grip on it.

"Thanks", she eventually said. "Look, is it okay if I sit here for a while, also after I've finished my cup?"

"Of course", Arianne replied. The woman shot her a quick smile, before paying for her cup and walking over to the Reading Corner. Arianne quickly turned back and spoke to Miranda through the hidden hatch in the back wall while she passed her the cup of hot chocolate.

"That book looks like it might belong in the 16th century!" she hissed.

"I know, I saw it", Miranda said, "and Ollivander says both it and she have magic. He wants you and the others back here as soon as you've given her the chocolate."

Arianne nodded and grabbed the cup. In the corner of her eye she saw Rachel putting up the illusion over the counter and on the way towards the brunette Arianne caught Toby's gaze from where he was picking up the empty cup of a previous guest and motioned for him to head into the kitchen.

"There", she then said, placing the cup on the glass table next to the brunette. She immediately moved her book so that it was impossible for anyone but her to see what it said.

"Thanks", she said, her face signalling to Arianne that all she wanted was for her to leave. Arianne smiled.

"Anything else you need, you know where to find me", she said as she walked back towards the counter, then slipped into the kitchen.

"Definitely an apprentice", Ollivander said as she entered, "but that book bothers me."

"Why?" Toby asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. "Is it about Dark magic?"

"I'm not sure", Ollivander replied, studying the brunette in the Reading Corner, "but I know that it's not from the Enchanted Forest proper. It must come from somewhere else."

"And that would be?" Miranda asked. Ollivander shook his head.

"I cannot be sure about it just yet; I'll need a closer look."

"But what do you suspect?" Rachel asked. "You do suspect something, don't you?"

Ollivander sighed.

"There's a country on the other side of the West Sea", he eventually said. "Only some minor contacts have been kept between the Enchanted Forest proper and this land, so there's not much I know about it, except for its name. Arendelle."

* * *

><p>The woman stayed in the Reading Corner for several hours, never getting out of the chair and every time someone came remotely close to her she held on to the book she was reading even tighter than before.<p>

"She seems really tense", Wolfgang remarked when he, Clarissa, Catriona and Maryse showed up for their shift.

"Whatever that book's about it's got her tense", Rachel corrected. "She might not be like that otherwise."

"Who's apprentice would she become?" Catriona asked, straining her neck to try to get a better view of the woman.

"Filipi's", Toby replied as he put on his jacket. "She's got an affinity for Potions."

"Try to leave her alone", Miranda advised. "She can sit there for as long as she likes. We've slipped her the card, so there's nothing else we can do now."

"Tessa's going to freak when she finds out about Arendelle, though", Wolfgang mused.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Clarissa said and turned towards Rachel. "Tessa's got everything ready for you."

"I'm sorry, what?" Rachel asked with a frown.

"For your date with Mystery Guy", Catriona filled in with a wide smile.

"It's not a date."

"Oh, shut up!" Miranda said, joining the other girls. "Of course it's a date; have you never watched a romantic comedy before?"

"Well, yes, but I prefer to try separating the things that can happen in a movie and the ones that happen in real life", Rachel replied. Miranda rolled her eyes at her and turned towards the two younger girls.

"Tessa's got everything covered, then?" she asked. "Who else is going to help out?"

"You're not giving me a makeover for this!" Rachel argued and looked at Toby and Wolfgang for help, but the two guys simply shook their heads at her.

"Go now", Maryse shooed them. "You don't want to be late."

With Rachel still protesting against this being an actual date, much to the amusement of the guests having a late lunch at the café, the morning's shift of workers exited the room.

"She's not going to get away from them", Maryse remarked to Wolfgang when they manned the counter. He grinned.

"No, definitely not."

The next moment the door opened again and they half-expected to see one of their friends returning to the café to fetch something they had forgotten, but instead they were faced with three unfamiliar individuals; two women and one man.

"Your colleagues let us in", the blonde woman said with a broad British accent, "just in case you were wondering why we didn't buzz."

"Oh, right", Maryse said. "Well, welcome to _The Enchanted Forest Café_."

"Thank you", the man said. His accent was American.

"Chad, look", the blonde said, pointing at the food on display. The man looked in the same direction and grinned widely, his eyes lighting up as if he was a kid on Christmas Day. The younger woman, a brunette, rolled her eyes at him.

"Seriously, what is it with you and mince pie?" she asked, then looked at Maryse. "I'll have a slice of the cheese pie and a bottle of sparkling water."

"Absolutely", Maryse said.

"I'll pay for everything, Sarah", Chad said when the brunette took out her wallet. "You go find a table for us."

The brunette hesitated, before sighing in defeat.

"Fine", she said and walked over to one of the tables by the windows.

"Two slices of mince pie", the blonde said with a smile, "and a Coke for me..."

"Me to", Chad filled in. "Two slices of mince pie and two Cokes, plus a slice of cheese pie and a bottle of sparkling water. Do you take cash?"

"Yeah", Maryse replied, causing Chad to pull out two $20 bills from his wallet.

"Keep the change", he said with a wink, then pulled the blonde in for a quick kiss. Maryse and Wolfgang shared a quick glance of surprise, before they both set to work in preparing the food they had requested.

"Cat", Wolfgang called into the kitchen, "could you help out with this order?"

"Sure", Catriona replied and came out, accepting the two plates of mince pie while Maryse carried the three drink bottles, glasses and Sarah's cheese pie behind her.

"Thank you so much", the blonde, who they still did not know the name of, said when they put the food down on the table.

"This", Sarah said and pointed at her pie, "will be ten times better than that lunch at NYU."

"I'll have to agree, because they have..." Chad begun, but was interrupted by the blonde grabbing onto Catriona's arm, her eyes wide. Catriona stared at her in surprise.

"Is everything alright?" Maryse asked. She had not seen anything that might have provoked this reaction. Chad and Sarah looked equally confused.

"Amber?" Chad eventually said. "Is everything alright?"

"I know you", the blonde, Amber, said, staring at Catriona.

"I'm sorry?" Catriona said with a frown.

"I know you, don't I?" Amber said. Catriona looked up at Maryse, then slowly shook her head.

"I don't know what you're talking about", she said. "I can't remember ever meeting any of you before; you must have confused me with someone else."

Amber slowly let go of Catriona's arm, a small blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Sorry", she said and turned back towards her food. "You're probably right."

Maryse and Catriona glanced at one another before heading back towards the counter. Behind their backs they could hear the trio's whispered conversation and from the Reading Corner they saw the brunette who had been sitting there basically the whole day peeking up to see what was going on. Then Wolfgang pulled them into the kitchen.

"The charm's in place, don't worry", he said.

"Who are those people, then?" Clarissa asked. "Why did the blonde grab Cat like that?"

"Because she recognized her", Ollivander simply replied.

"So they've got magic?" Maryse asked. "They're plausible apprentices, all three of them?"

"Yes", Ollivander said. "The brunette's got Healing powers and should be matched with Miranda. The man would be a natural Apparition student, so Ella would be his master. And the blonde..."

He paused and looked at Catriona.

"Arithmancy", he said. "Your apprentice."

* * *

><p><strong>More chapters coming soon!<strong>


	10. 9: It's Cold Outside

Rachel tugged at the hem of her red lace dress one more time, making a face when it still would not go further down her thighs. It was not what most people would define as a short skirt, but to her it was. She would have felt way more comfortable in a blouse, a pair of nice trousers and heels than this. Quickly she fished out her phone from her purse.

_Clarissa, next time, don't buy a dress for me, alright?_ she texted. The answer came almost immediately.

_So you're saying there will be a next time already?_

Rachel rolled her eyes and put the phone back in her purse without answering. She could basically hear Clarissa squeal those words next to her ear.

"Miss Nolan?" the waiter on the podium said as she entered the restaurant, having handed in her coat in the wardrobe. Even from the outside she could tell that this place was fancy and the inside definitely did nothing but confirm that suspicion.

"Yes?" she said. It felt weird using her brother's last name, but also a lot safer than her real one. There definitely did not need to be any confusion as to why she existed in two places at the same time, if someone decided to look her up on Facebook or any other social media. Now the waiter smiled at her and gracefully showed her into the restaurant itself.

"This way, please."

He guided her through the restaurant, which was filled with couples, even now on a Thursday. Rachel kept an eye out for Sam but could not spot him anywhere. As they got further and further inside the large room and then headed up a wide set of stairs to an equally filled upper floor she actually began to wonder if this was all just a prank and quickly made sure that her wand was easily accessible inside her purse.

Then the waiter led her up a second set of stairs to an empty ballroom and opened up a pair of large glass doors leading out onto a covered balcony. Heaters were strategically placed out around a single table with two chairs, one that had been occupied by Sam until they entered the balcony, at which time he rose.

"Hi", he said, smiling a lopsided smile. Rachel stared at him and their surroundings.

"Alright, this is pretty amazing", she managed to say. Sam's smile widened, before he walked around the table and pulled out the second chair for her.

"I'll give you two a moment to look through the menu", the waiter who had escorted her said, before he headed back inside the restaurant.

"Hello, by the way", Rachel said as he disappeared. Sam chuckled and poured a glass of water for her before he sat down opposite her.

"I can't believe you actually came", he said.

"What, because we don't actually know each other?" she retorted.

"Yes. I have to say this isn't exactly something that I do every day, you know."

"I'm sure you tell all the girls you've brought up here exactly that", Rachel replied and took a sip of her water.

"Actually", Sam said, "you're the first."

Rachel paused and studied him. He seemed to be telling the truth and also looked quite nervous under her, possibly, scrutinizing gaze.

"Then I must say I feel very privileged", she said with a smile. Sam smiled as well, some of the nervousness seemingly melting away.

"It's really beautiful", Rachel continued. "I just can't believe you'd take me to a place like this after only running into me at a small café."

"Well, I guess sometimes one has to take a leap of faith", Sam replied. "You seem like a really nice person, Rachel, and I'm really, really sorry for ruining your coat. I might not know you yet and you might not even see me as anything but a strange guy who asked you out on a date, but... I'd like us to be friends."

Rachel felt a small blush creep up her cheeks at the small speech he had given and hoped that it was not too visible in the slight darkness.

"You didn't ruin it", she then said. "The coat, I mean. I sent it to the drycleaner and they got the stains out of it."

She paused and studied him, tilting her head slightly to the side as she did.

"And do you see this as a date?"

Now it was Sam's turn to blush and his was clearly visible in the semi-darkness.

"Maybe", he replied, clearing his throat and then focusing on the menu. "Well, what would you like to have?"

Rachel could not help but smile at him, before she turned to look at the menu. As if the location next to Central Park or the fancy interior had not given it away, the prices on the food here were ridiculously high. Even the cheapest dish – which was a small bowl of salad and an appetizer – cost $15.

"Don't worry about the prices", Sam suddenly said, causing her to look up at him again.

"Sam, they're ridiculous", she said.

"I'll pay for whatever you like", he pointed out.

"There are way better things for you to use your money for than this."

Sam studied her in silence for a while, before his mouth widened in a grin.

"My treat", he said. "Pick whatever you want; don't worry about the money. Alright?"

Rachel eyed him with suspicion before returning her attention to the menu. After considering her multiple options she eventually settled on a vegetarian lasagne. Sam ordered a pork fillet.

"And to drink?" the waiter asked, looking from one to the other.

"Wine?" Sam suggested, looking at Rachel. She hesitated for a few moments before she nodded.

"Yeah, sure", she said. "A bottle of Zinfandel from California, perhaps?"

Sam blinked in surprise and quickly glanced down at the menu. The waiter, however, nodded with a smile.

"An excellent choice, ma'am", he said, before he took their menus and walked back inside.

"You know wines?" Sam said once the waiter was gone. Rachel shrugged with a small smile.

"I blame my dad", she replied and took a sip of water while also feeling as if a thorn branch had been inserted into her heart. There was no way she could go back to them by use of a time portal now; Ollivander had used up all of that magic when he brought them back here and they could not replicate the spell. She had sacrificed her old family, the family that had raised her, for a chance of seeing (and helping) her newfound brother again. The only way she would ever meet her old family again was to go back to Sweden when 2017 came around, use a spell to cover the fact that she, by then, would have aged four years. It was not optimal, but she also knew she would never have forgiven herself if she had ignored the call for help coming from Storybrooke.

"Are you alright?" Sam asked, his brow slightly furrowed as he studied her.

"Yeah", Rachel replied and forced a smile. "Just got lost in thought, I guess."

Sam did not look entirely convinced, but he did not push her.

Once their food had arrived and they had both complemented – and tried out – each other's dishes came the long row of questions about who they actually were. After all, they had met just the day before and that meeting had consisted mainly of trying to scrub coffee from Rachel's coat. Rachel now found out that Sam was 29 years old and worked as a psychiatrist, that he had lived in New York for the majority of his life but also for some time in Aurora, Illinois, while his parents worked there. She stuck to the story she and the others had made up together with Godric; that she was a teacher from Sweden who had decided to take a year off to study at NYU. When asked about her age she gave what she would have been in 2017, but also added the extra year spent in the Enchanted Forest; 27.

They shared a cheese pallet with crackers for dessert before Sam paid the bill. While the waiter cleaned off their table Rachel walked over to the railing, looking out over Central Park. She tried to make out where she and the others had landed earlier that week, but was interrupted by Sam taking a place next to her. His cologne smelled of wood and mint.

"It really is beautiful up here", she said, looking at the lights in the building surrounding the park, the dim skyline and the shadows of the many trees.

"So are you."

Rachel immediately turned to look at him.

"Don't get cheesy with me", she remarked. Sam laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Sorry", he said, "but you really are, you know. Beautiful, I mean."

"I'm definitely not beautiful", Rachel replied and turned back towards the park. "I'm an average person."

Sam leaned against the railing much like she did, but kept his gaze focused on the view.

"I have a hard time believing in average people actually existing", he said. "People are like... like this view. If you look at one thing at a time, say, one single building that we see right now, it will look like any other building you might walk by and you wouldn't spare it a second glance. Same if you walked through the park; at this time of the day you might even find it scary. But then you pull back, you stand up here instead of down there, you see the bigger picture... and suddenly nothing is average, because if you put all of these things together they create something beautiful. Something way beyond average."

He turned to face her and she found herself staring at him.

"Is that something they teach you at psychiatry school?" she tried to joke. Sam smiled a lopsided smile and linked his hand with hers.

"Maybe", he said. Then he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

She had kissed guys before, mind; there was nothing new about being kissed. She had had good kisses and bad kisses, kisses that sent her body tingling and kisses that made her want to throw up. The sensation she now experienced was, however, nothing like her previous ones. It was as if she had been turned into a flower blooming in the driest of lands and the only thing that kept her alive was Sam and the way his lips felt against hers. His hand came up to cradle her head, his fingers weaving themselves into her hair, and then he pulled back. His breathing was haggard and he kept his eyes closed as he leaned his forehead against hers.

"Wow", he mumbled, causing her to smile.

"You too", she replied.

"I really had not planned to do that tonight", he admitted, pulling back somewhat and looking at her with a sheepish grin. "I'd planned to ask you out again, and then again, and then, maybe..."

"I'm glad you did it tonight", Rachel said with a smile, interrupting him. His grin turned from sheepish to happy in a nanosecond. Then he leaned forward and touched foreheads with her again.

"May I do it again?" he asked, his voice barely louder than a whisper. She could not keep the smile off her face when she nodded.

"You may."

It was half past ten in the evening and the gang were getting ready for bed. Some had already nodded off in the chairs around the room, books about magic still open on their laps, and were now groggily making their way up the stairs to the bedrooms.

At least they were until Clarissa's phone buzzed and she squealed when she read the message.

"What?" Chris asked, waking up from his short nap and blinking in the light of the still lit fires. Clarissa smiled.

"Rachel's going to stay with Sam for the night", she said, winking at everyone who was awake.

"Seriously?" Miranda asked. "That's... fast."

"But so romantic", Clarissa sighed. Godric rolled his eyes at her.

"Go to bed", he said. "All of you. You have another busy day ahead."

The members of the group still downstairs nodded and walked upstairs, their whispers audible for some time longer before they slowly fell silent. When that happened Godric turned around and looked through the narrow opening leading into Ollivander's room, next to the library. The old man was awake but refused to look at him, causing Godric to walk into the room and place himself directly in Ollivander's line of sight.

"Out with it, old man", he sharply ordered. Ollivander's expression did not change as he looked at his former apprentice, or when he then responded.

"These Children are brightly burning flames in the night. They will draw attention to themselves, for better or for worse. You know that as well as I do."

Godric's eyes narrowed as he regarded the old man, his former master, the man he almost saw as his own father. Then he stomped out of the bedroom and took the elevator down from the apartment.


	11. 10: Magic Slip

**Chapter 10 is here, people! Hope you'll enjoy it :)**

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><p>Friday morning was different from their previous mornings in the luxurious apartment, for three reasons.<p>

The first was that Rachel was still not back, which made several of the girls think out several romantic scenarios and come up with ship-names for Rachel and the guy she had been out with and most likely gone home with; Sam. The guys were a bit more reserved when considering the situation, as were the girls not joining in the squealing.

That was the only fun and interesting difference. The second was that Ollivander was in no state to get out of bed. In fact he could not even move his legs. It was as if he was slowly fading away from them for a reason they could not understand.

The third difference that morning was that Godric was gone.

"He's not answering his phone", Maryse said after dialling the number they knew belonged to Ollivander's former apprentice.

"Where could he have gone?" Chris asked. "And why would he even leave?"

"I'm sure he'll be back", Ella said. "He doesn't seem like the type who runs away like that."

"Our most prominent problem today is that Ollivander is in no state to travel", Toby remarked. "We'll have no one at the café who'll be able to tell if a possible apprentice walks in."

"Do you think we might be able to guess?" Clarissa asked. "We know just about what age they should be in; maybe we could pinpoint some possibilities at least."

"If we had done that during the previous days we would have found more than fifty possible apprentices, not six", Indira replied. "That's the number of times that Godric's detection spell for people below thirty has activated, not counting our comings and goings."

"That's a chance of about one in ten guests", Catriona sighed.

"What if we keep the café closed for today, then?" Jade suggested. "Maybe Godric will be back tomorrow, or Ollivander might be doing better?"

"I don't think we can do that", Miranda said. "We need to find our apprentices as soon as possible and be out of that apartment so that we don't interfere with Emma's visit to it before she returned to Storybrooke. The sooner the better."

"Besides", Arianne filled in, "the amount of possible apprentices will certainly decline soon. I doubt all of those that we have found are here in New York for that long."

That settled it; they simply had to try to cope at the café without Ollivander or Godric there to alert them of possible apprentices. They had to figure that out on their own.

* * *

><p>The first shift consisted of Jade, Filipi, Chris and Tessa. They were far more nervous today than on any other day, even than during the opening day, because of that now they would be responsible if they missed a possible apprentice, or several.<p>

"Here we go", Chris whispered as the buzzer sounded for the first time that day. None of the others replied.

However, they were all surprised when the door to the café opened and Rachel entered, wearing the same clothes she had been wearing the day before. She smiled sheepishly at them.

"Good morning."

"What are you doing here?" Tessa asked, dropping the plate of cupcakes on the counter and hurrying over to the newcomer, followed by the three others.

"Keeping up my cover", Rachel replied. "In a way. I told Sam I live in one of the apartments here; living in a hotel for a year while studying doesn't seem economically ideal."

"Wait, Sam's here as well?" Jade asked, then rushed over to the window to peer down.

"He's probably gone", Rachel replied. "He was already late for work."

"I do wonder why", Filipi said and winked, causing Rachel to groan and hide her face in her hands.

"You'll have to tell us all about that later", Chris said, just as the buzzer sounded again. "Right now, we're in a bit of a situation."

"What situation?" Rachel asked and looked up.

"Ollivander's sick and Godric's gone", Filipi answered. "There's no one in the back to check for possible apprentices."

Rachel stared at them in surprise.

"Ollivander's sick? Is it bad?"

"He can't walk", Tessa replied, then grabbed Rachel's arm and pulled her into the backroom as steps approached out on the stairs. A middle-aged man entered and asked Chris for a coffee, black.

"What about potions?" Rachel asked. "Or healing spells, or herbs?"

"Not sure yet", Tessa replied. "Ollivander refuses to tell what he thinks it might be and there are a lot of things that might have caused this, according to Godric's books. We'll just have to keep an eye on him for a while."

Rachel nodded.

"So what's the plan?" she asked. "How are we going to find apprentices today?"

"We'll have to guess", Tessa replied, "and be lucky. Very lucky."

* * *

><p>The morning continued, with most of the guests being far too old for qualifying as apprentices. On three occasions they gathered in the back room to discuss a certain guest, considering him or her as a possible apprentice, but in the end none of these three seemed to connect with them. Now they just hoped that they had not done the wrong thing.<p>

At half past eleven Filipi buzzed another guest inside and they all listened intently as they heard the steps approaching. It seemed that whoever it was he or she was in a hurry.

"Business man", Jade guessed. A few moments later the door opened and a blonde woman stepped in. She seemed to be about twenty years old, with a round face and a wide mouth, her lips full and almost looking like they had been injected with Botox.

"Hi", she said with a wide smile, her eyes glittering.

"Hi, welcome", Filipi, who was manning the cashier, said. "What can we get you?"

"A large cup of strong coffee and a good story", the woman answered in a broad British accent. Then she held out her hand.

"I'm Imogen."

Filipi frowned, slightly confused, then took the hand.

"Filipi", she replied. "A coffee, you said?"

"Yep", Imogen said with a nod, "and a good story. I'm a journalist, you see, and I've been trying to find a some places to see in New York that aren't the typical ones you read about when reading about New York. And then I saw this café and I thought _that's perfect_."

"Wait, you want to write about this café?" Rachel asked and came out from the backroom. She had changed into her work clothes, but had so far remained in the back throughout the morning. Imogen now nodded.

"Yes. Who can I interview about it?"

"Well, I'd say all of us who work here have our own stories to tell", Rachel replied, "so the ideal thing might be to interview all of us. However, with our schedules that might be hard."

"I'm flexible", Imogen replied, "and I don't have to talk to you all at the same time. I can come back, you know."

Filipi glanced at Rachel, who looked back and nodded.

"Alright", she said, "I can start, if that's alright with you? I just need to finish up some stuff in the back."

"Brilliant", Imogen replied with a grin, then pulled out her wallet to pay for her coffee. "I'll sit... over there, in the corner."

She pointed while accepting the cup from Filipi, at which Rachel nodded. The moment she turned Rachel quickly put up the illusion by the counter, then signed to Jade and Chris, who were out in the café cleaning some of the tables, to join them in the back. Tessa was already there.

"You think she's one of them?" Tessa asked, frowning. "I think the guy we let walk out of here thirty minutes ago was more likely."

"Look, I'm not a hundred percent certain", Rachel replied, "but so far everyone who has been singled out by Ollivander as an apprentice has had something in common."

"British accents?" Jade suggested.

"Think about it", Rachel said. "Something that they all did when they came here."

"They wanted to stay", Filipi suddenly realized.

"Exactly!" Rachel said, sounding excited. "They've all had some excuse to remain here for far longer than anyone else, something that makes them want to stay."

"Hogwarts is their home", Chris said, catching on. "They feel a sense of belonging here, with us, because of the magic that surrounds them."

"It's not a bulletproof theory", Rachel said, seeing the sceptic faces of Tessa and Jade, "but it should give us less people to worry about than we've had earlier."

"I agree; it's a lot better than guessing and blindly fumbling about", Filipi said. "Let's..."

She was interrupted by the buzzer sounding again and quickly exited the backroom to buzz whoever it was in, breaking down the illusion as she waited and the others hurried back to their stations as well. Filipi seated herself opposite Imogen in the café and the blonde started asking her a series of questions about the place.

Then the door opened and two more women entered, one brunette and one blonde. Both of them were within the age range they had decided upon.

"Vera", the blonde said, looking around, "this feels... weird."

"What do you mean?" the brunette asked. Her accent was Scottish.

"I don't know", the blonde replied, "but something's off here. I just know it."

* * *

><p><strong>Feel free to review :) Next chapter will be a flashback chapter, like the prologue, where you get some information about what's happening in Storybrooke after Emma and Hook returned but this gang didn't.<strong>


	12. 11: Cold Breeze

**So sorry for the wait, I've been both sick and busy with starting up the final semester at uni since I last posted anything here. My final math-course started this Monday and I must be mad because I find statistics extremely thrilling and fun to work with while all my classmates (soon-to-be-teachers) look thoroughly confused at the calculations we're meant to be doing. So I've had to help some of them get on track as well.**

**Anyway; I'm posting two chapters straight away and I'm currently finishing up on chapter 16 for my BETAs, and I will try to post more regularly. I hate falling behind on this when I have written quite a lot.**

**Also, as stated in the last chapter; this is a flashback chapter, i.e. something that happened in Storybrooke after Emma and Hook returned from the past (and chronologically it takes place right after the _Prologue_), which also means it's more connected to or even based on scenes in the OUAT season 3 finale. Enjoy!**

* * *

><p><em>Storybrooke, Maine<em>

_Early April, 2014_

Gold ran a finger along the cold stones forming the dried up well, located in the forest outside of Storybrooke. It was where they had been reunited here. Properly reunited; she had met him in his shop not long before that, still in her cursed state, and he had brought her with him up here. The well was a focus point for magic and it was where he had intended to use the True Love potion to bring magic to the town, and break the first Dark Curse. Of course, Emma had succeeded in the latter before they had gotten here, which was why Belle had been able to remember him when he dumped the vial in the well to bring magic back, intent on taking his revenge on Regina for keeping his love locked up. How long ago that seemed now. A life, perhaps two, and yet it had not been more than a couple of years.

There were candles lit along the side of the well and he had taken the liberty of sending a few lights up into the air to light the clearing, which was currently only holding two people; him and Archie Hopper. He had his back turned towards the town psychiatrist as he studied the well, the magic it represented. Archie must think that he was nervous because any moment now, Belle and her father would emerge from the trees, walking towards them. He certainly was nervous and some of that nervousness most likely was due to the fact that he was getting married, to Belle, but some was due to a darker secret. One that he had to force into the back of his mind this night because he could let it come in-between him and his happiness. Not now.

A branch cracked, causing him to blink and straighten up. Slowly he then turned around, counter-clockwise, and saw Belle being led down the pine-needle path by her father. The fact that the duke-turned-florist had given their union his blessing was beyond Gold's understanding; he had done nothing but opposed of their love since the moment it had been revealed to him. Yet here he was, smiling with tears in his eyes as he led his daughter towards her soon-to-be husband.

And Belle; she took Gold's breath away. She did not wear a traditional bridal gown, but had opted for a white wool coat to shield her from the cold April night, paired with a white cloche hat adorned with a cream ribbon, upon which a small white rose was fastened. The same kind of rose that Gold, Archie and Belle's father, Moe French, had fastened on their coats and that Belle also held in her hands. She smiled at him, blushing slightly but never wavering in her step. To his left Gold could see Archie's smile widening as the two newcomers closed in on them.

Eventually Belle came to a stand right in front of Gold. Moe kissed her on the cheek before stepping back and Archie adjusted his round glasses, then cleared his throat.

"It is my great honour", he said, "to officiate this most lovely union."

He nodded at Belle.

"If you'd like to begin your vows."

Belle nodded with a smile, drew a deep breath, and then turned towards Gold.

"Rumplestiltskin", she said, tears shaping in her eyes, tears of love and joy, "this thing we have, it's never been easy. I've... I've lost you so many times. I've lost you to darkness, to weakness and... and finally, to death. But now I realize..."

She paused, drew another deep breath and somehow smiled even wider.

"I've realized that I have not spent my life losing you. I've spent my life finding you."

It took Gold a few moments to first realize that Belle was done, then to find the ability to speak again. He swallowed down the tears that threatened to fall down his cheeks and, just like Belle, drew a deep breath before he started.

"Belle, when we met I wasn't just unloved and unloving. I was an enemy of love, as love had only brought me pain. My walls were up, but you... you brought them down. You brought me home."

He paused and smiled towards her, though also took the opportunity to force back the tears once more.

"You brought light into my life", he continued and stepped forward, accepting the ring from Archie, "and chased away all the darkness. And I vow to you; I will never forget the distance between who I was and what I am."

He held out his hand towards her and she placed hers in his, allowing him to place the simple wedding band on her finger.

"I owe more to you", he said and held her hand in both of his, "than I can ever say. How you can see the man behind the monster, I will never know."

Belle smiled and shook her head at him.

"The monster's gone", she assured him. "The man beneath him may be flawed, but we all are. And I love you for it."

She smiled and squeezed his hand.

"Sometimes", she said, "sometimes the best book has the dustiest jacket, and sometimes the best tea cup is chipped."

Now Gold was unable to stop the tears from falling down from his eyes, making trails on his cheeks, but Belle simply smiled up at him, stood on her toes and kissed him. Their first kiss as husband and wife.

* * *

><p>Back in town the celebration was still going on at <em>Granny's<em>. The name of the new prince had been announced when Emma and Hook came back from their little time travelling adventure and their companion, the woman they had brought with them from the past, was now sitting with the pair by the counter, enjoying her first taste of hot cocoa. At another table sat Aurora, Phillip, Mother Superior and Granny; the old lady was trying to teach the newly freed royalties how to play poker, causing Aurora to laugh, then clutch at her swollen stomach. The baby was moving around a lot right now and Doctor Whale made a point of not drinking anything, knowing they might need to rush to the hospital. That did not, however, seem to trouble him; he and Ruby Lucas seemed awfully cosy at one of the corner tables. Granny did not seem to mind; she for one knew that Ruby and Whale had been flirting back and forth since during the old Dark Curse and their feelings seemed to be rather genuine. Besides, Ruby was a grown woman; she could take care of herself.

"David", Mary Margaret said, looking at her husband, "are you alright?"

"Of course", David replied, managing a smile. His left arm was wrapped around her shoulders, but his right was stuffed in his pocket, clutching at his phone. There was still no answer from Rachel, or any of the others that he had tried either, for that matter. It had been hours since their return from the past, according to Emma, thus the group of young witches and wizards should have come back here by now as well. Mary Margaret smiled and shook her head at him.

"Look", she said, "I'm sure they're fine. But if you're not able to stay put and wait, why don't you ask Granny for the keys to their rooms and see for yourself? I'm sure they're just tired."

Her arguments did not make sense in David's mind, but walking across the street to the bed and breakfast seemed like a better idea than staying here, worrying.

"Are you sure?" he still asked.

"I'm going to need you at your full senses tonight", Mary Margaret replied, "so I'd much like to see you stop fretting about. Go. It'll only take a few minutes."

David hesitated for a few moments longer, as was proper, before untangling himself from her and his sleeping baby son, rising and walking over to the table where Granny had just won a round of poker against Prince Phillip.

"Granny", he said, drawing the old woman's attention. Before he was able to continue she raised the keys in question in the air.

"I might not be a wolf anymore, boy, but I can still hear what's said at the next table", she remarked. "The master key's marked with an _M_."

Then she returned to the card game. David blinked in surprise, then clutched the keys hard in his hand and exited the diner. The air outside was strikingly cold compared to the crowded room he had just left and he wrapped his leather jacket tighter around himself as he hurried across the street. Using the master key he unlocked the door to the bed and breakfast, stepped inside and then locked it behind him again. There was no sound coming from the rooms upstairs, causing his worry to spike again. As he climbed the stairs he fished out his phone and dialled the number to the phone that Rachel had had that same morning. The beeping tones echoed against his ear as he walked down the corridor to the first room he knew the group had been inhabiting during their visit. The door was locked, causing him to once again take out the master key. When the door clicked and he took a deep breath, grabbing the doorknob and turning it.

The room was dark and he fumbled for the light switch for a few moments before finding it and flicking it, bathing the place in yellow light. The room was empty. In fact it looked completely uninhabited; there were no clothes, no suitcases, no personal belongings. Except for what lay on the bed. Mobile phones. Seven of them, one of them being Emma's old one, and one of them with a lit display showing an image of his own face above the word _Calling_. He was trembling as he slowly took his own phone away from his ear and pressed _Cancel_. In response the phone on the bed stopped vibrating, the image of his own face disappeared from the screen, and eventually the screen went black.

He, however, did not notice the last thing because he had already dropped to the floor, his chest contorting in pain.

* * *

><p><strong>(we'll see when I do the next flashback, but they'll be quite rare to say the least)<strong>


	13. 12: Black Ice on the Road

**Back to the café then! If you don't remember what'd happened there this one starts off right at the end of chapter 10 :)**

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><p><em>New York City, New York<em>

_March, 2014_

The Scottish brunette, Vera, was frowning in utter confusion at her blonde friend's comment that this place, the little café on 89 Wooster Street, was a strange place and that they should leave, find some other place. The comments made the people on duty first stare at the exchange and then mull over the theory they had put out earlier; that the ones suitable as apprentices had an urge to stay. However they had never met any customer before who seemed so completely uncomfortable in this environment as the blonde in the doorway now seemed to be. It was as if she had stepped into her worst nightmare.

"Alice", Vera eventually said and walked back to her friend, grabbing her by the shoulders, "look, we don't have to stay here and eat. We can buy something and bring it with us to the museum you wanted to go to. That sound good?"

Alice, the blonde, hesitated, glancing in the direction of the counter, causing the ones manning it (Filipi and Jade) quickly avert their gazes and busy themselves with whatever they could find.

"I'll wait for you outside", Alice eventually sighed, then spun around and walked back out the door. Vera remained still for a few moments before turning towards the counter, grimacing slightly.

"Sorry", she whispered as she walked over. "I'm sure she didn't mean to insult your place. And I don't feel like she does. I like it."

"Don't worry about it", Filipi replied with a smile. "What would you like?"

"Something vegetarian for Alice, and a blueberry smoothie for me", Vera said.

"Just a smoothie?" Jade asked, frowning slightly. "You sure you'll be alright with that?"

"Oh, no problem", Vera replied. "I used to eat way less before. A smoothie is enough for lunch."

Filipi and Jade shared a glance, before Jade went to prepare the mentioned object – or rather have Ella and Catriona poof one over to them.

"We've got various types of sandwiches and pies that might work for a vegetarian", Filipi continued, gesturing to their current selection of dishes.

"Alice would like any of them", Vera admitted after some inspection. "You pick one."

Filipi nodded and eventually pulled out a slice of broccoli pie, placing it in a take-away box. At the same time Jade returned with the smoothie.

"One blueberry smoothie", she said with a grin, "and you're welcome back anytime."

"Well, I won't be here for that much longer", Vera sighed as she paid, then accepted the bag containing Alice's food, "but thanks anyway."

She walked out the door with a wave and Filipi quickly glanced at Jade.

"Slipped her the card with the receipt", the younger girl said. "Ollivander said that they wouldn't notice it if we had to do that and apparently she didn't."

"Let's just hope our theory was correct", Chris said as he returned from picking up some dirty dishes.

"Yeah", Filipi sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Damn, I wish Godric hadn't just run off like that. It's not like Ollivander's been fighting fit since we got here; we need someone else who's able to tell when someone's a plausible apprentice and when they aren't."

"I couldn't agree more", Chris said, then moved past them into the kitchen, joining Tessa who was in charge of bringing out the apparated goodies to the café. She looked just as glum as the others had done during the brief discussion by the counter and the weather did not exactly help, seeing as the rain was increasing by the minute.

* * *

><p>When it was time for the second shift, consisting of Rowan, Arianne, Indira and Rachel – who was already at the café and had given Imogen enough to write about so that she did not have to do more interviews – the rain was pouring down in big drops, smattering against the window.<p>

"Cosy", Rachel remarked as they set up shop.

"Not as cosy as you apparently got with Sam the other night", Indira said, winking at her with a grin and causing the Swede to blush and also hit her on the arm with a wooden spoon.

"Shut up", she muttered.

"But really; I want to know all about it", Indira continued. "What was he like?"

"He was a gentleman", Rachel replied, "but there was also... something about him. Something I can't quite figure out."

"Well, you've got time to figure it out, I promise", the Indian girl said, then smiled at the customer who had approached the counter. After providing the middle-aged man with a cappuccino and a biscuit Rachel continued.

"What time do I have, really? We're here to find our apprentices and once that's done, when our old selves have left Storybrooke, we're meant to go back there and help with whatever's going on."

"So tell him that you have to go away for a while", Indira suggested. "Have an old-fashioned letter correspondence."

"Storybrooke doesn't exist on any maps", Rachel pointed out. "It's not like I can give him an address."

"Okay, so don't be old-fashioned. E-mail. Skype. Call each other. We won't be trapped in Storybrooke forever, you know; you'll be able to get back out here and go meet him again."

"It's not like he can ever meet my family in Sweden, though", Rachel said and readjusted her ponytail. "They have to think that I'm four years younger than I'll actually be in 2017, while Sam doesn't expect that of me. It's complicated. Way too complicated."

Indira could not help but agree with that, but at the same time she was a bit jealous. Rachel was, after all, experiencing something equal to the story in a romantic comedy, yet she was thinking of it in such Ravenclaw-ish manner, where she only saw the complications a possible relationship would bring, that she could not bring herself to live in the moment and just let herself be swept away by this whirlwind. She appeared to have had no trouble with that earlier this week, when first meeting this Sam-person, going on a date with him and then spending the night at his place, but now she seemed to go back to logic and reason.

"It's your choice, Rachel", Indira eventually said, while leaning down to press the buzzer button to let in some new customers. "Although I personally would have gone with it. It's not every day that you meet Prince Charming and he spills coffee on you."

"You do know that Prince Charming's my brother, right?" Rachel huffed, giving her a lopsided smile.

"Oh, you know what I mean!"

The next moment the door opened and two women walked in. The first was blonde with seemingly perfect skin, her lips painted in a blood-red colour. She was smiling at them, her blonde curls bouncing as she walked up to the counter.

"Hello", she said, "could I have a cup of your absolutely delicious mocha latte? And a cupcake; a strawberry flavoured one."

"Sure", Indira said, then cast a glance at the other woman, who remained in the background. She and the blonde shared several similar features, including the shape of their eyes and nose. However the second woman's hair was a much darker shade of blonde, almost on the edge of brown, and in a short pixie cut. The two women's style was also different, as the blonde was wearing sleek black trousers with black boots and a crème coloured coat while the pixie wore worn jeans, sneakers and an oversized dim blue jacket – and kept her hands inside said jacket's big pockets while eying the café.

"Have you been here before?" Rachel asked while bringing over the mocha latte from the hidden hatch. "You spoke as if you'd had this earlier, but I don't remember seeing you here."

"Oh, no, I haven't been here", the blonde replied, "but my _assistant_..."

She turned back and gave the other woman a look as she put emphasis on the word, which caused her companion's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise.

"My assistant came by this morning", the blonde continued and turned back towards them. "My office isn't far away so she got here on the way and bought my favourite drink for me. I always need a mocha latte in the morning, and in the afternoon."

"Oh, alright", Rachel said, seemingly satisfied with the answer. "Well, I'm glad you like it so much that you came here for a second cup."

The blonde grinned, before paying for her things and seating herself by a table. Her companion instantly started talking to her and seemed to question everything that the blonde had spoken about by the counter.

"Meeting, now", Arianne hissed from the kitchen, causing Indira to wave for Rowan to join them and Rachel to put up the enchantment.

"Well, the blonde seems like she wants to stick around here", Rowan said once they were back in the kitchen, referring to the theory they had come up with that morning.

"I agree", Indira said. "I'll slip her the card when I'm out collecting dishes. It's my turn about now anyway."

"Wait, hold on", Arianne protested, "does none of you think that the other one should get a card as well? That she's not a plausible apprentice?"

"I think she might be a Child of Magic, but not an apprentice", Rowan replied.

"I'm with Arianne", Rachel said, looking out at the two women in question. "There's something about her that tells me we should give her a card as well, that they're both plausible as apprentices."

"Well, then she goes against the theory that you and the others came up with", Indira pointed out. "She's done nothing to show that she wants to remain here."

"But she hasn't done the opposite either", Rachel argued. "She hasn't said that she wants to leave. We had such a guest this morning and she looked like... well, like this was a place rundown by rats and that we all were barbaric murderers. This woman doesn't look like that, at all. In fact I'd say she seems rather at peace."

The three others turned to look at the woman with the pixie cut and wondered how Rachel could say that she seemed 'at peace' when there was a deep frown etched on her forehead and her sharp hazel eyes glared at the blonde across the table, who was smiling widely and gesturing with her hands while explaining something to her companion.

"Be it on your head", Indira eventually sighed. "Yours and Arianne's. I still can't see her as an apprentice, but without Ollivander or Godric here... well, none of us can really confirm it."

Arianne and Rachel shared a triumphant glance before walking out into the café again. They had barely had time to remove the enchantment, which took nothing more than a muttered word containing nine letters, when a loud screeching sound followed by a crash sounded from outside the window. The whole building seemed to tremble at the impact and the two women they had previously been discussing got out of their chairs in a flash. The blonde screamed, covering her mouth with her hands in shock.

"Oh my God", the one with the pixie cut said as the four admins ran over to the window as well. "Oh my God."

Indira leaned forward towards the window and looked down at the street below. A huge crowd had already started to gather around a yellow cab that had driven straight into a lamppost, which had lodged itself almost all the way through the hood into the compartment. Even from inside they could hear the calls for someone to call an ambulance. Some sturdy looking men hurried forward to get the driver out of his seat, pulling him out of the wreck and, unintentionally, placing him on the ground so that his blood-smeared face came within direct view from the café's windows. A collective hiss was heard from the four friends.

"Godric", Indira breathed.

"Godric who?" the woman with the pixie cut next to her asked. "Godric Gryffindor?"

Indira turned towards her with her eyebrows raised, but it was the gasp from Arianne by another window that ultimately made her look across the street into a dark, narrow valley. Her blood froze in her veins as she saw a highly familiar shape lurking in the shadows, red eyes gleaming, the long sharp teeth in its mouth showing in a triumphant grin and the large wings on its back framing its otherwise relatively small body. One of Zelena's flying monkeys.

* * *

><p><strong>And I'm gonna leave you with that cliffhanger ;)<strong>

**Also, I'd like to ask all of you to head over to my Facebook-page where I've uploaded an album of possible characters to introduce in the final story in this trilogy (which will be based loosely on OUAT 4B). There will not be as many new characters as in this one, but a couple more will show up and play prominent roles, for reasons that will become apparent at the end of this story. Link to the page can be found on my profile; look through the album _Characters for AUJ III_ and like the pictures of the characters you'd like to see :) Also there might be more characters added to that the closer I get to the end of this story, depending on how my planning changes!**


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